Intrastate Marijuana Law Enforcement - An Analysis of Local Attitudes and Criminal Justice System Accommodations

• NCJ Number: 79695
• Journal: Contemporary Drug Problems Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 253-272
• Author(s): R A Roffman
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using Washington State as a single case, this study examines the manner in which two communities, specifically chosen for the study because of their political and geographic differences, had reacted to marijuana use, given a single State law.

Abstract

Data in both communities were obtained through (1) analysis of criminal justice system statistics for the 1977 calendar year, (2) key informant interviews, and (3) analysis of pertinent media stories, editorials, and reports of inquiries made by local groups. The two communities examined were Bellevue, a wealthy suburb of Seattle which was politically conservative but liberal concerning marijuana penalties and with a police chief strongly favoring decriminalization of marijuana possession; and Okanogan County, a rural county located in the central part of the State, a county with the reputation for strict enforcement of marijuana laws. Findings show that Bellevue releases a substantial proportion of offenders with no formal or informal processing (38 percent of offenders), while the policy in Okanogan County precludes this option. Further, Bellevue officials are considerably more lenient than their counterparts in Okanogan County, despite the Bellevue offender population having a greater incidence of concurrent and known prior criminal charges. Okanogan County officials are primarily dealing with out-of-county residents encountered at a border crossing, while Bellevue deals with its own residents. The data suggest that within the overall provisions of State law, each of the communities has implemented local policies which have broad citizen support; however, in adopting disposition policies which reflect local attitudes and priorities, the concept of equal justice under the law for those with similar histories committing a particular crime appears to be given low priority. Eight notes are listed and tabular data are provided.