Citation

Kotlaja MM, Carson JV. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2019; 63(7): 1082-1099.

Affiliation

University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X18814184

PMID

30477367

Abstract

Prior research that assesses the relationship between cannabis policy and prevalence rates has yielded mixed results, perhaps due to the varying rigor of these investigations. Addressing some of these issues in rigor and informed by a rational choice theory (RCT), we hypothesize that those policies on the more punitive end of McDonald and colleagues' classification will be most effective. Examining legislation in 27 countries utilizing the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) through hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) models with both individual- and country-level controls, we find little support for these hypotheses. Instead, results from our analysis largely indicate that the variation in country prevalence rates from 2005 to 2007 was not significantly related to cannabis control policy. We comment on possible policy implications for these preliminary results.

Language: en

Keywords

HLM; adolescents; cannabis; cross-national; drug policy; legislation; rational choice theory