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theses

In the 2012 election cycle, Massachusetts became the 20th state (including Washington, DC) to pass legislation favoring medical marijuana. As momentum builds for more states to pass medical marijuana laws, the federal government continues to classify the drug as a Schedule I, illegal narcotic that has a high likelihood of abuse and dependence and that should continue to be treated punitively. In this work, I take a holistic approach to uncover some of the larger, national patterns that have allowed for some states to pass legislation favorable to medical marijuana in a relatively hostile federal climate. This work will demonstrate that the battle over medical marijuana legislation is about much more than just the drug’s medical efficacy. Medical marijuana policy is symbolic of the nation’s attitudes toward illicit substances and medical science, an illustration of the power of rhetoric and the struggles between different moralities, and an example of the forces at work in the battles over morality policies. Put simply, these legislative battles are contesting the moral meaning of marijuana itself. The complex nature of these morality policy struggles necessitates a varied methodological approach. By analyzing the battles between science and morality and the path to medicalization, the historical constructions of the drug and its associated policies, the statistical differences between those states that have passed medical marijuana and those that have not, and the rhetoric and ideological arguments used in the media (and elsewhere) that serve to bound the marijuana debate, patterns of partially changing morality surface that suggest a level of inconsistency and ambiguity in the national understanding of the drug. In order for the construction of marijuana to shift from a criminal to a medical designation, this research highlights the four battles within which medical marijuana legislation is fought: federal vs. state control, entrepreneurial struggles for bureaucratic power, constructing an image of the marijuana user, and moral vs. scientific struggles over the meaning of the drug. As these battles are being waged, multiple marijuana moralities are emerging, giving shape to the changing landscape of medical marijuana legislation.

ETD_4450

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Tracie L. Witte

http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000067892

doi:10.7282/T3028Q66

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.