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Symbolic Severity in the Land of Easy Virtue: Nevada's High Marihuana Penalty
Abstract
Nevada is the only state where first-offense possession of the slightest amount of marihuana is a felony, punishable by up to six years imprisonment; ironically the state permits casino gambling and prostitution. News reports, government records, and interviews with public officials show that in Nevada marihuana and other drug use is continually, but incorrectly, blamed on tourists, and high penalties are thought necessary to control these outsiders. While it is recognized that the high penalties are seldom enforced, respondents said that their existence gives the state a more respectable image.
... The liberal political culture of the Pacific Northwest (e.g., only Oregon and Washington allow doctor-assisted suicide) may have had a positive impact in Washington but could not overcome the perceived deficiencies of Oregon's measure. History shows that a state's political culture does not need to be progressive for the decriminalization of vice to occur; some conservative states decriminalized marijuana possession in the 1970s, whereas some vice-tolerant states like Nevada passed harsh laws (DiChiara & Galliher, 1994;Galliher & Cross, 1982). For this reason, we do not consider a state's historical political culture a robust predictor, although it may have some impact. ...
Medical marijuana is now available in 23 states, and its growing acceptance has paved the way for the legalization of recreational marijuana. This article examines four recent campaigns to legalize recreational marijuana–two failures and two successes. Using data from newspaper sources, interviews with key players, and other sources, we examine the factors that influence whether a ballot initiative succeeds or fails. We identify similarities and differences between the four measures, the social forces shaping the debate, their claims and counterclaims, and a set of factors that appear to increase the odds that a recreational marijuana ballot measure will be successful.
... Courts were encouraged to adopt mechanistic sentencing formulas, simplistic "zero tolerance" legislation that led to swollen jails. Politically conservative states enforced stiff marijuana laws to promote a public image of respectability as part of "get tough on crime" campaigns (Galliher and Cross 1982). ...
Cannabis, including hemp and its psychoactive counterpart, has a long but largely overlooked historical geography. Situating the topic within varied perspectives such as world-systems theory, Foucauldian biopolitics, and the moral economy of drugs, this paper charts its diffusion over several millennia, noting the contingent and uneven ways in which it was enveloped within varying social and political circumstances. Following a brief theorization, it explores the plant's early uses in East and South Asia, its shift to the Middle East, and resultant popularity in the Arab world and Africa. Next, it turns to its expansion under colonialism, including deliberate cultivation by Portuguese and British authorities in the New World as part of the construction of a pacified labor force. The fifth section offers an overview of cannabis's contested history in the United States, in which a series of early 20th-century moral panics led to its demonization; later, the drug enjoyed gradual liberalization.
... It has also been used for a more comprehensive look at structural conditions (social, economic, cultural, and historical) by Berk, Brackman & Lesser (1977); Galliher & Basilick (1979); Galliher & Cross (1983); Cross (1991); Galliher & Tyree (1985); Gusfield (1986Gusfield ( [1963Gusfield ( ], 1967; McGarrell & Castellano (1991); Hadwiger & Cross (2004). It has also been useful for the study of "symbolic crusades" by interested parties like moral entrepreneurs and symbolic politics by Duster (1970); Gusfield (1986Gusfield ( [1963Gusfield ( ], 1967Gusfield ( , 1981; McGarrell (1988); Galliher& Basilick (1979); Galliher & Cross (1982McGarrell (1988);Galliher (1997). In the sections that follow these four interrelated elements of Integrated Conflict Theory: structural bases, perceived and real crimes and need for law, triggering events, and inherent conflicts are considered separately in the various articles that describe and portray the importance of each component part. ...
Beer has been prohibited in Iceland since 1915, but wine has been legally imported since 1922, as have all other alcoholic beverages since 1934. Since 1932, ten unsuccessful attempts have been made to repeal the beer prohibition. Using the records of parliamentary debates, newspaper reports, opinion poll results, and interviews, we examine the degree of fit between this legislation and Gusfield's model of linkage between status politics and symbolic legislation (Gusfield, 1955, 1963, 1967). We also identify the type of demographic and economic settings that appear to create an environment that encourages symbolic politics.
Research into the American Presidents' role in crime control policy has consistently found that they rely on symbolic rhetoric in their crime speeches. The research to date, however, has been confined to qualitative analysis and has not attempted to explain why presidents engage in symbolic rhetoric when it comes to crime policy. This study assesses presidential speeches related to crime from 1948 through 2010, and employs logistic regression to estimate the effects of the independent variables on the likelihood presidents will employ symbolic rhetoric. Findings suggest public opinion, presidential election year, party affiliation, and divided government, are significant factors in the likelihood presidents will engage in symbolic politics. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's implication for the larger body of research on presidential crime rhetoric and the federal role in crime control.
The movement for removal of criminal penalties for possession of marihuana in the United States provides an important case study of the causes and process of decriminalization. Between 1973 and 1978, 11 states reduced criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of the drug, but the reform movement was fragile, brief, and limited to a few states. This case study suggests that reform was driven in part by "moral dissonance" resulting from the arrest of high-status offenders. Although public opinion has always been deeply divided on decriminalization of marihuana possession, a narrow "policy window" was created in the 1970s by the expressed concern of political leaders about the effect of arrest on high-status youths and the support of law enforcement agencies interested in efficient use of limited resources. Even after the window for reform closed at the end of the 1970s with a shift in national leadership, deep moral ambivalence renders criminalization symbolic and police place a low priority on marihuana arrests.
Driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenses provide a unique focal point for research in criminology. In recent years, legislative and media attention has increasingly focused on the harmful acts of drunk drivers, but little is known of the characteristics of individuals arrested for driving while drunk or of the court processing and sanctioning of such offenders. The research presented here uses a variety of methodological techniques to analyze individual-level court processing data for persons convicted of DWI on a revoked license. We find that the population of persons processed for this offense have certain characteristics which are not unlike those of persons processed for street crimes. Further, we find evidence of differential sanctioning related to ethnicity and level of education. We conclude with a call for future investigation of court processing to understand better why the DWI legislative mandate is being applied differently across social groups.
Mandatory sentencing legislation often results in laws which use provisions and set penalties in order to make strong symbolic and political statements. Thus, in addition to protecting society, they are powerful vehicles for expressing moral outrage. This is especially evident in mandatory sentencing for drug and alcohol offenses. The present research examines the consequences of that practice on one state's criminal justice system. Interviews with key actors along with examinations of official documents, newspaper publicity and media campaigns illustrate the political decisions and symbolic statements which pervade driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) legislation. The process is studied from before the lawls enactment through its subsequent outcome. Copyright 1986 by The Policy Studies Organization.
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