SOC 220 - Cannabis and Society

3 Credit(s)

This course introduces students to the contested history of cannabis in the United States. Students first learn about the dynamic social constructions of cannabis including its status as a medicine, prohibited substance, and recreational intoxicant. The course then focuses on policy changes and social equity provisions within state-level regulatory models. Students will analyze and critique the effectiveness of existing policies and programs while considering best practices for how states could structure an adult-use market. The final assignment in the course is a letter to a Pennsylvania state official advocating for either the adoption of best practices applied to legalization, or a letter advocating for the reform of cannabis-related policing/sentencing matters.