{"title":"Recreational Cannabis and Recriminalization in the “Emerald Triangle”","authors":"Philip R. Kavanaugh","doi":"10.1111/soin.12609","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Cannabis had been illicitly cultivated for over half a century in the isolated tri‐county region of far northern California known in drugs lore as the “Emerald Triangle.” The regional industry gained legitimacy and experienced a significant boom in the 1990s when California legalized medical cannabis. In 2016, California legalized cannabis possession, use, and cultivation generally, and recreational sales for adults aged 21+ began in 2018. Drawing from 95 archived news reports published between 2018 and 2022 on California's move to legalize recreational cannabis as experienced in Humboldt County – the most populous in the region – I highlight how recreational legalization has invited opportunities for “soft” criminalization, while further legitimating the spectacle of police intervention into the illicit cannabis market. Soft criminalization has occurred via an onerous labyrinth of permitting laws that place untenable financial pressure on legacy cannabis growers. Entrenched forms of criminalization remain dependent on the trope of dangerous drug gangs, violence, and supposed ecological devastation.","PeriodicalId":47699,"journal":{"name":"Sociological Inquiry","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sociological Inquiry","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12609","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"SOCIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Cannabis had been illicitly cultivated for over half a century in the isolated tri‐county region of far northern California known in drugs lore as the “Emerald Triangle.” The regional industry gained legitimacy and experienced a significant boom in the 1990s when California legalized medical cannabis. In 2016, California legalized cannabis possession, use, and cultivation generally, and recreational sales for adults aged 21+ began in 2018. Drawing from 95 archived news reports published between 2018 and 2022 on California's move to legalize recreational cannabis as experienced in Humboldt County – the most populous in the region – I highlight how recreational legalization has invited opportunities for “soft” criminalization, while further legitimating the spectacle of police intervention into the illicit cannabis market. Soft criminalization has occurred via an onerous labyrinth of permitting laws that place untenable financial pressure on legacy cannabis growers. Entrenched forms of criminalization remain dependent on the trope of dangerous drug gangs, violence, and supposed ecological devastation.
期刊介绍：
Sociological Inquiry (SI) is committed to the exploration of the human condition in all of its social and cultural complexity. Its papers challenge us to look anew at traditional areas or identify novel areas for investigation. SI publishes both theoretical and empirical work as well as varied research methods in the study of social and cultural life.
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