The United States, Cannabis, and the Law: An analysis of three models

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Supervisors: Opello, Katherine
Faculty: Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres
Degree label: Master [120] en communication multilingue, à finalité spécialisée: langues des affaires
Abstract: This thesis focuses on the future possibilities for marijuana laws in the United States. Although marijuana is currently illegal at the federal level, my hypothesis is that the country will adopt some form of decriminalization, as this is the most likely drug policy model to be embraced in the near future, despite the fact that the most beneficial model is legalization. In order to prove this hypothesis, my analysis consisted of three stages. First, I examined in detail the history of cannabis legislation in the nation to observe the impact of prohibition and past attempts to deal with this drug. Afterward, I provided a current update on the state of official positions at the federal level. Finally, I studied the three different models — Colorado (legalization), Kansas (prohibition), Nebraska (decriminalization) — to obtain concrete data on the benefits and disadvantages before comparing them. The results of the research confirmed this hypothesis.