In recent years, the legalization of medical marijuana in states has been a controversial topic. Despite conflicting with the
federal government ban on marijuana use, 28 states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana by the year 2016 and other states are
currently considering adopting the law every year. Why do some states adopt medical marijuana laws and others do not? This study lays out
an approach that explains what and how the predictors of the adoption of medical marijuana laws affect legalizing medical marijuana in a
state, using a mixed methods approach. In the quantitative research, this study examines the diffusion of medical marijuana laws by
analyzing policy adoption from a morality and economic development perspective through three policy typologies such as morality policy,
economic policy and multidimensional policy. For the qualitative research, this study uses short case studies of three states (California,
Colorado, and Illinois) based on news reports to draw out the politics surrounding the issues and reasons why the policies were adopted.
This study finds that the morality policy characteristics as policy diffusion factors -- religious groups, citizens’ liberal ideology, and
a ballot initiative process -- have a significant effect on the adoption of a medical marijuana law. Economic indicators -- fiscal
capacity growth, incarceration, and cost of justice system -- also have a significant effect on the adoption. As internal characteristics,
a major proponent group (number of marijuana users) and state regulatory environment (mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and
the size of the regulatory bureaucracy) are important predictors of diffusion. Overall, this study shows that the diffusion of a medical
marijuana law is mainly determined by the citizens’ opinion rather than elected officials’ political ideology or government's fiscal
health conditions. Also, we demonstrated that a multidimensional policy model provides a superior explanation for predicting when a state
will adopt medical marijuana policy; policy typologies are still a useful framework for clarifying and understanding characteristics of
each policy type and its unique politics pattern. These findings contribute to the literature of diffusion, and they have important
implications for the diffusion of multidimensional policies that transcend classical typological boundaries. Moreover, in terms of
practical implication, this study provides policy makers and American civil society useful information about which factors impact medical
marijuana adoption and why. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / October 24, 2016. / Economic policy, Medical marijuana law, Morality policy, Multidimensional policy, Policy innovation and
diffusion, Policy typology / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances S. Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; William G. Weissert, University
Representative; Ralph S. Brower, Committee Member; Keon-Hyung Lee, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_405592 |
| Contributors | Kim, Gook Jin (authoraut), Berry, Frances Stokes (professor directing dissertation), Weissert, William G (university representative), Brower, Ralph S. (committee member), Lee, Keon-Hyung (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (degree granting college), School of Public Administration and Policy (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (122 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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