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Abstract
On January 1, 1979 Nebraska decriminalized first- offense possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. This research evaluates the impact of the new law for the purposes of: a) assessing the effectiveness of Nebraska's new law; b) clarifying general issues regarding the decriminalization of marijuana; and c) gaining insight into the issues surrounding the legal theory of decriminalizing a broad range of victimless crimes.
An examination of the law's legislative history reveals that it contains four major implicit behavioral assumptions. will not: These behavioral assumptions are that the new law a) be perceived as more traumatic than the old; b) lead to an increased use of marijuana; c) result in a decrease in the enforcement efforts of the legal actors in the criminal justice system; and d) create new problems in the apprehension and adjudication of offenders.
The assumptions were tested by collecting and analyzing data from a number of sources.
