Drug court professionals’ perspectives on marijuana legalization implications for the drug court system

Abstract

As of May 2022, more than 18 U.S. states had legalized marijuana for adult recreational use. Marijuana users constitute a large portion of drug court participants. However, little was known about marijuana legalization (ML) implications for the drug court system (DCS) to enable appropriate measures to be put in place. This generic qualitative study explored ML implications for the DCS from drug court professionals’ perspective using therapeutic jurisprudence theory as the framework. Purposive sampling was used to identify 13 drug court professionals from six marijuana-legalized states. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and analyzed. Findings indicated that ML has positive and negative implications for the DCS. including the introduction of complications and increased workload in the DCS. Positively, ML may be a source of income for the DCS through ML taxation. ML may also enhance harm reduction. Findings may help drug court practitioners, administrators, and managers improve the operations of the DCS in the era of ML. A successful DCS will serve as a model for treating people with drug use disorders in several parts of the World, including West Africa.