Potent Moment

Jeffrey Moyer is visiting lecturer of public policy at Northeastern University.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: The First Era of Drug Regulation: From the Great Binge to the Great SocietyChapter 2: Racial Inequity and the War on DrugsChapter 3: Cannabis Legalization: A New Paradigm of Control?Chapter 4: Colorado: Legalization Without EquityChapter 5: Ohio: Equity Without LegalizationChapter 6: Massachusetts: A Vision for Social EquityChapter 7: Illinois: Policy Design for Social EquityChapter 8: New York: Resources for Social EquityChapter 9: The War on Drugs and the Fight for Racial Justice in Federal LegalizationConclusion: From “Halloween Sadism” to Harm Reduction: Moving Toward EquityBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

This survey of the progress of cannabis legalization in the United States is unusual for succeeding as both intellectual inquiry and policy advocacy. The core inquiry is twofold. First, Moyer analyzes the legalization campaigns that triumph or fail at the state level. Second, he asks if social equity—i.e., meaningful material redress for the disproportionate impact of cannabis prohibition on racial and ethnic minority communities—should be included in the development of the recreational cannabis retail industry. After tracing the political origins of alcohol and drug regulation in the mobilization of nativist and racist antipathies, Moyer describes how cannabis prohibition exacerbated the racial wealth gap. He uses detailed case studies of legalization campaigns in Colorado, Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois, and New York to illustrate policy-making possibilities and limitations. He explores the problems associated with including social equity provisions. American politics and public policy scholars are likely to be intrigued by one important consequence of the Justice Department's 2013 "Cole Memo," which directed US attorneys to defer to state and local regulation: treating cannabis markets as hermetically sealed within state borders and the resulting rent-seeking from interstate cannabis tourism. Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.