UC Irvine

This dissertation examines drug legalization as a complex socio-legal phenomenon, using the case of cannabis reforms in California. It employs a mixed-methods approach to analyze the impact of new cannabis policies on communities and individuals most affected by the war on drugs. Empirically, the study draws on a statistical analysis of over 20,000 cannabis licenses issued in 2018 and 2019, as well as nearly 100 interviews and field observations conducted between 2020 and 2024. The quantitative data explores the relationship between the legal status of cannabis and its acceptance at the community level. The findings shed light on how spatial regulation and “not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) sentiments operate in the context of drug legalization. The qualitative data examines how the legality of cannabis is produced and maintained through the everyday activities of various actors—most notably, market participants and local authorities. The findings demonstrate that the creation of a legal framework may paradoxically lead to the proliferation of illicit activities and prompt calls for intensified punishment. The study also demonstrates that the costs and benefits of legality are unevenly distributed along racial and class lines, with white male entrepreneurs and corporations emerging as the primary beneficiaries of new cannabis legalization. Overall, this dissertation argues that new cannabis laws, enacted under the banner of social justice, contribute to the reproduction of social inequalities and the perpetuation of racial stereotypes. The study offers a critical assessment of cannabis legalization in the context of the neoliberal economy, challenging the normalizing power of legal and market institutions and focusing on the experiences of non-dominant actors. It concludes by proposing an alternative to the prevailing neoliberal orthodoxy that is grounded in the logic of abolition, which calls for a fundamental ideological shift in the way society treats drugs.