Take the case of a repeat offender who is caught selling marijuana for a third time. Explain how three different perspectives of justice would want this case to be handled and why. Does the decriminalization of marijuana in certain states complicate the issue?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The decriminalization of marijuana would complicate the issue for certain perspectives of justice, as it has complicated the conversation surrounding marijuana in the country. For example, someone from the crime control perspective might consider that if marijuana is illegal in the state where the crime is committed, they should receive a full punishment. Furthermore, if they are a repeat offender, perhaps past punishments were not enough to deter them from future crime. Someone from the rehabilitation perspective would look and the social and economic reasons that led someone to deal marijuana-low-income neighborhoods are particularly susceptible, and the race of the offender would certainly play a role in how harshly the system would treat them from the rehabilitation perspective. The due process perspective would want to ensure that the process proceeded fairly, especially if the offender was from a targeted group to make sure they received fair justice. Someone from the nonintervention perspective would likely point to decriminalization in other states and make the argument that the offender never should have been arrested for selling marijuana at all and that they should be let go and marijuana be decriminalized in general. Someone from the equal justice perspective might have some complications considering that selling marijuana cannot be persecuted equally in every state. They might look at how other offenses were treated in that particular state, but they would also likely argue that marijuana be treated equally across the country. Someone from the restorative justice perspective, who wants the system to be more humane, would also aim for no incarceration and would likely also support a decriminalization of marijuana as a way for all those offenders to integrate into society.