SOC201 Session Long Project: Module 4 – Social Stratification

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Recommended: Different dimensions of social stratification

Social Stratification and the Decriminalization of Marijuana
Socioeconomic status is one measure of social stratification that is demonstrated in the recent support for legislation favoring the legal use and possession of marijuana. Prior to the passing into law of Initiative 502 in Washington State, there was little legislative support for the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana. Preceding initiatives in Washington did not have the level of popular support that Initiative 502 enjoyed. This initiative was openly supported by mayors, senators, state representatives, religious leaders, professors, law enforcement and medical professionals (New Approach, 2012). These supporters enjoyed power, property and prestige as the result of their elected status, their financial well-being, professions and community roles. The socioeconomic status of these supporters brought with it the demonstrated support of a certain class of society, and lent a certain level of respect and legitimacy to the initiative. Even the President of the United States spoke on the issue, commenting that the federal government should not target marijuana users abiding by state laws, and that “you've seen the voters speak on this issue.”
From the social stratification theory regarding micro-level, meso-level and macro-level points of view, the result of the legalization of marijuana might make a prominent difference on the outlook of children as they grow into adults. From the micro-level point of view, children growing up in the Ocean Hill/Brownsville precinct of New York City are over 150 times more likely to experience their parent being arrested for the possession of marijuana than in the Upper East Side precinct in the same city (Brooklyn Rail...

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...Retrieved from: http://www.brooklynrail.org/2011/10/local/marijuana-arrests-gateway-into-the-criminal-justice-system
Chang, Alisa, WNYC, Police Commissioner Calls on NYPD to Stop Improper Marijuana Arrests, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.wnyc.org/story/160516-police-commissioner-calls-nypd-stop-improper-marijuana-arrests/
U.S. Code, 21 U.S. Code § 812 - Schedules of controlled substances, 1970. Retrieved from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/812
Gustafson, Craig, Donald Abrams, Md: Evidence-based Efficacy of Medical Use of Cannabis, 2013. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/docview/1463113438
Weir, Robert, Historical Journal of Massachusetts, The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America, 2012. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/docview/1027932439

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