SOC201 Session Long Project: Module 3 – Social Structure
Group Conformity and the Decriminalization of Marijuana
On December 6th, 2012, the state of Washington legalized the use and possession of marijuana by adults over the age of 21. There were already laws in place to provide for the medical use of marijuana before this date, therefore this new initiative (Initiative 502) pertained mainly to recreational marijuana users. According to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office the day prior to the law going into effect, “The Department of Justice is reviewing the legalization initiatives recently passed in Colorado and Washington State. The Department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. Neither States nor the Executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress.” Regardless of popular opinion in Washington State on the legal status of marijuana, the formal group of the federal government issues this statement to remind the residents of Washington that their actions remained federally illegal, without any reference to criminal debate, medical concerns, or mass hysteria. The formal group that the U.S. Attorneys form demonstrates conformity in the fact that they are reiterating that federal law and the popular state law are in discord. This is in spite of the fact that popular opinion, and now a popular state law, supports decriminalization in the face of federal law.
Social Facilitation and the Decriminalization of Marijuana
The simple election on Initiative 502 demonstrates the ability of each voter to perform a remedial task, in this case voting affirmatively for one’s beliefs. In total, over 3 million voters voiced their opinion. Over 55 percent of those individuals vot...
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Washington Secretary of State, November 06, 2012 General Election Results, Initiative Measure No. 502 Concerns marijuana, 2012. Retrieved from: http://vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/Initiative-Measure-No-502-Concerns-marijuana.html
U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Narcotics, The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, 1937. Retrieved from: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm
Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Transcripts of House Hearings on the Marijuana Tax Act, 1937. Retrieved from: http://webstation19.8k.com/archives/37HEAR.HTM
Retrieved from: National Cancer Institute, Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®), http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page3
Pulse, BMA backs cannabis treatments, 1998. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/docview/233442212