Dazed and Confused

Five researchers asked: Do Citizens Know Whether Their State Has Decriminalized Marijuana? They published their results in a paper with that title on SSRN. They note that evidence of the connection between decriminalization of and non-compliance with marijuana laws offers only "fragmentary support" for the prediction that decrease in sanction will increase non-compliance (and vice versa). Based on national survey data of people's perceptions about their state's marijuana laws, the authors conclude that the rates of people who believe they could be jailed for marijuana possession don't change much, even where the actual sanction for marijuana possession varies widely.