Marijuana, juveniles, and the police: What high-school students believe about detection and enforcement

Author(s): Fischer, B., Albanes, R., Amitay, O.

Journal/Book: Can J Criminol. 1998; 40: 304-383 Parkdale Ave, Ottawa on K1Y 4R4, Canada. Canadian Criminal Justice Assoc. 401-420.

Abstract: This study examines how high-school students calculate the odds of being arrested for possessing marijuana or for using it. Particular attention is paid to how students categorize the motives and practices of the police with whom they or their peers might come into contact. The results are based on 49 focus-groups with a total of 278 adolescents, and reveal four basic assumptions: (1) marijuana has little or no effect on demeanor, and its use by itself is thus unlikely to attract the attention of the police; (2) the likeliest outcome of an encounter with the police is confiscation and not arrest; (3) many police officers use marijuana; and (4) ethnicity and social class are crucial variables in determining both the likelihood and outcome of an encounter with the police.

Note: Article Warner J, Addict Res Fdn, 33 Russell St, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, CANADA

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