The Politics of Sin: Drugs, Alcohol and Public Policy

297 Pages·1994·27.596 MB·English

by  Kenneth J. Meier

The
Politics
of Sin
Bureaucracies, Public Administration,
and Public Policy
Kenneth J. Meier
Series Editor
THE STATE OF PUBLIC BUREAUCRACY
Larry B. Hill, Editor
THE POLITICS OF DISSATISFACTION
Citizens, Services, and Urban Institutions
W. E. Lyons, David Lowery, and Ruth Hoogland DeHoog
THE DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT
BETWEEN BUREAUCRATS AND LEGISLATORS
Cathy Marie Johnson
THE POLITICS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION
The States and the Divestiture of AT&T
Jeffrey E. Cohen
WOMEN AND MEN OF THE STATES
Public Administrators at the State Level
Mary E. Guy, Editor
ETHICS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
H George Frederickson, Editor
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AT THE STATE LEVEL
Politics and Progress In Controlling Pollution
Evan J. Ringquist
THE POLITICS OF SIN
Drugs, Alcohol, and Public Policy
Kenneth J. Meier
Bureaucracies, Public Administration,
and Public Policy
The
Politics
Sin
of
Drugs, Alcohol,
and Public Policy
KENNETH J. MEIER
First published 1994 by M.E. Sharpe
Published 2015 by Routledge
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Copyright © 1994 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicatlon Data
Meier, Kenneth J. 1950-
The politics of sin: drugs, alcohol, and public policy / Kenneth J. Meier.
p. cm. - (Bureaucracies, public administration, and public policy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56324-298-2 (C). - ISBN 1-56324-299-0 (P)
1. Drug abuse--United States-Prevention. 2. Drug abuse---Govemment policy
United States. 3. Alcoholism-United States-Prevention. 4. Alcoholism-
Govemmentpolicy-United States 5. Narcotics, Control of-United States.
I. Title. II. Series.
HV5825.M3751994
362.29'0973---dc20
93--14454
CIP
ISBN 13: 9781563242991 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 9781563242984 (hbk)
To Dwight Waldo and Lloyd Nigro
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Contents
List of Tables and Figures IX
Preface xiii
Chapter
1. Politics and Morality Policies: A Theory 3
2. The Policy History of Govemment Antidrug Efforts:
Or, "It's Deja Vu All Over Again" 20
3. Reefer Madness: A Quantitative Historical Analysis of
Drug Enforcement Policy 66
4. The State Politics of Drug Abuse 103
5. A Historical Review of Public Policies Regarding Alcohol 135
6. One for the Road: A Quantitative Historical Analysis
of U.S. Alcohol Policies 176
7. Dealing with the Devil: State Regulation of Alcohol 209
8. The Politics of Sin 242
Bibliography 256
Index 273
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List of Tables and Figures
Tables
2.1 Revenues Collected under the Harrison Act, 1915-45 28
2.2 Violations of the Harrison Act, 1915-30 29
2.3 Discretion and Morality Law Violations, 1922-28 31
2.4 Federal Drug Prosecutions after the Marijuana Tax Act,
1938--90 38
2.5 The Rise in Salience of Marijuana: Number of Magazine
Articles per Year, 1959-75 44
2.6 Racial Distribution in Drug Arrests, 1950--90 45
2.7 The Salience of Drug Abuse in the 1980s: Number of
Magazine Articles 52
2.8 Median Age of Individuals Arrested for Drug Violations,
1950--90 58
2.9 Percentage Distributions of Arrests for Drug Violations 59
3.1 Determinants of Federal Drug Agency Budgets 74
3.2 Determinants of Drug Agency Personnel 75
3.3 Determinants of Federal Drug Enforcement 77
3.4 Determinants of Federal Marijuana Enforcement 79
3.5 Impact of Legislation on Drug Penalties 81
3.6 Impact of Legislation on Marijuana Penalties 83
3.7 Determinants of State Drug Arrest Rates 85
3.8 Determinants of State Marijuana Arrest Rates 86
3.9 Determinants of Federal Prison Population 88
3.10 Determinants of State Prison Population 89
3.11 Determinants of Drug Prices 91
3.12 Determinants of Drug Use 94
ix