Citation

Best J. Sociol. Forum 2017; 32(3): 461-479.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Eastern Sociological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/socf.12344

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Popular hazards are common activities that involve some risks of harm, such as driving a car, possessing or shooting a gun, drinking alcohol, or smoking marijuana. In each of these cases, many millions of Americans engage in the activity, but only a small fraction of them harm themselves or other people. Because the activity is so common, the number harmed may be substantial, although more serious harms tend to be much more infrequent than less serious harms. Social policy debates almost always focus on some particular popular hazard, yet we can see rhetorical similarities--parallel arguments--in how advocates frame what are understood to be very different social issues. Thus, discourse about legalizing recreational marijuana use tends to invoke claims that are quite similar to those opposing further gun control. The category of popular hazards allows us to recognize parallels in policy debates about seemingly unrelated social issues. Focusing on the underlying policy issue--balancing popularity and hazardousness--encourages considering alternative ways to construct social policies.

Keywords: Cannabis impaired driving

Language: en