Narrative Evolution in Cannabis Policy Discourse

Abstract

Some policy narratives stabilize and remain relatively unchanged over time. Others adapt to a changing environment and may fade away in the face of more powerful, more resonant narratives. In cannabis policy discourse, the long-standing Abstinence narrative, which had gained ascendance during alcohol Prohibition in 1921 before fading in the early 1930s, gained ascendance again in the late 1930s when cannabis was made illegal, and yet again during subsequent episodes of America’s war on drugs. The Compassionate Use narrative, which ushered in the era of medical cannabis, has brought new imagery and considerations that mitigate against the “just-say-no” mantra of the Abstinence narrative. Similarly, a Social Justice narrative may be displacing a Nativist narrative that justifies criminalizing cannabis by associating its use with ethnic minorities, racial minorities, and otherized groups. A Harm reduction narrative bolstered the Social Justice narrative and the Compassionate Use narrative in a seeming alliance. Meanwhile, a Libertarian narrative has persisted throughout the cannabis policy discourse in opposition to incarceration and criminalization.