5.1a The Legalization of Marijuana
The legality of marijuana and its use in the United States illustrates how deviance is socially constructed as a crime. Marijuana did not become illegal until the federal Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. Since then, 24 states, Washington DC, and Guam legalized it for both recreational and medical use (Davis Jr. et al., 2024), and 13 states have legalized marijuana for medical use (DISA, 2025). However, under federal law, marijuana is illegal.
Changes in state law reflect changes in the public’s attitudes toward the marijuana. Only 12% of U.S. adults supported the legalization of marijuana in 1969 (Saad, 2023) (see Figure 5.1). Today, 70% of U.S. adults support legalization (Saad, 2023).
Figure 5.1
Support for Marijuana Legalization by U.S. Adults, 1969-2023
Data for 1969, 1980, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2105, 2020, 2023 from Saad, L. (2023b, November 8). Grassroots support for legalizing marijuana hits record 70%. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/514007/grassroots-support-legalizing-marijuana-hits-record.aspx. Copyright 2023 by Gallup. Data for 1975 and 1995 from Davern, M., Bautista, R., Freese, J., Herd, P., & Morgan, S. L. (2023). General Social Survey 1972-2022. NORC (2022 Release 1). https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends. Copyright 2020 by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Attitudes Toward Marijuana Legalization
Scholars have examined why attitudes toward legalization may have changed. Felson et al. (2019) used nationally representative survey data from the General Social Survey (see Chapter 2) and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine how the public’s attitudes had evolved. They also did a content analysis of articles from The New York Times published between 1983 and 2016. By analyzing articles over time, they could learn whether and how the media’s framing of marijuana changed.
Felson et al. (2019) found that media coverage in The New York Times changed over the same period as attitudinal change revealed in public opinion surveys, such as the General Social Survey. Over time, the newspaper began reporting on marijuana separately from other illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin) in news stories. The media framed marijuana as medicinal and distinct from other illegal drugs. How news media socially constructed marijuana changed and public opinion changed. As a result, most adults now support marijuana legalization. The changes in laws and attitudes around marijuana sheds light on how the social construction of deviance varies over time and place.
Photo 5.1
Marijuana is Legal Recreationally, Medically, or for Both Uses in Nearly 40 U.S. States
