Awareness of Sanctions for Marijuana Possession Is Modest at Best
Opponents of marijuana decriminalization fear that removing the deterrent of criminal penalties will lead more people to use the drug. However, studies of the effect of decriminalization have not yielded consistent results. Why? One explanation is that people have to be aware of the penalties in order for them to deter use. A recent DPRC study compares people's answers to questions about the toughest penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana within their state (asked by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health) with state legislation specifying actual penalties. The study finds that people who live in states recognized as having decriminalized marijuana possession for personal use are 29 percent more likely than those living in other states to believe that the maximum penalty for such possession is a fine or probation (as opposed to a jail term). However, substantial fractions of the population wrongly identify the maximum penalty prevailing in their state or assert that they simply do not know what it is.
The DRPC team's overall conclusion that people's knowledge of marijuana possession sanctions is modest at best provides an explanation for, and is consistent with, prior studies that have not found a clear relationship between penalties and use. When people are not aware of penalties, a change in penalties may not matter very much.
The wedges in the pie charts indicate the percentage of people believing that the maximum penalty for possession of 1 ounce of marijuana in their state is as labeled (C.S. = Community Service).
The question was asked in the 2001 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the decriminalization regimen reflects the situation at the time.
Source:
"Do Citizens Know Whether Their State Has Decriminalized Marijuana?: Assessing the Perceptual Component of Deterrence Theory," Review of Law and Economics, MacCoun R, Pacula RL, Chriqui J, Harris K, Reuter P
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