Table 2.
Number and proportion of news stories including pro- and anti-recreational marijuana legalization arguments, 2010–2014.
| Argument | Total (N=610) N (%) | News source location1 | News source party affiliation2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National & regional news sources (N=188) | Local news sources (N = 422) | Democrat-affiliated news sources (N = 235) | Conservative news sources (N = 102) | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | |
| Any regulatory option | 75 | 68 | 78 | 75 | 87* |
| Any licensing requirement for growers, processors, or retailors | 29 | 23 | 32 | 26 | 40 |
| Limit on the amount of marijuana that can be purchased/possessed at one time | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 37* |
| Limit the amount of marijuana that can be purchased/possessed by out of state residents | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Limit on quantity of home production (e.g. three plants per household) | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| Limit on public consumption (e.g. no consumption in public parks) | 10 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Development of a quantitative standard for marijuana-impaired driving | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 11* |
| Change federal rules and regulations so that banks can serve recreational marijuana businesses | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Require labeling of marijuana products | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 11* |
| Require labels that identify product as containing marijuana | 1 | 1 | <1 | 1 | 0 |
| Require labels that describe the health risks of marijuana | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Require labels that do not appeal to children (e.g. no cartoons) | <1 | 0 | 1 | <1 | 1 |
| Limit marijuana marketing (e.g. restrict marketing toward youth) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Any restriction on the location of marijuana retailers | 5 | 1 | 7* | 5 | 10 |
| Regulate location to avoid concentration of marijuana retailers in low-income minority neighborhoods | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Require testing of contents of marijuana products | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Any limitation on marijuana grow operations | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Any packaging restrictions for marijuana products | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Any recreational marijuana supply chain limitation (e.g. producers cannot also be retailors) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Limit on the potency of marijuana products | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Limit the types of marijuana products sold | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prohibit all edible products | <1 | 1 | <1 | 0 | 0 |
| Prohibit marijuana candy | <1 | 0 | <1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ban home production/cultivation | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
p<0.05;
p<0.01;
p<0.001.
Logistic regression, with standard errors clustered by news source, was used to make statistical comparisonsbetween news source locations (national/regional vs. local) and by party affiliation (Democrat vs. Republican).
Local news sources were defined as news sources located in states (AK, CO, OR, WA) and DC that legalized recreational marijuana during the study period, 2010–2014.
This analysis was conducted using the subset of print news stories & blogs (N = 337) published by news sources that endorsed a presidential candidate in the 2012 election. Liberal news sources include: New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Los Angeles Times, Anchorage Daily News, Denver Post, Portland Oregonian, Seattle Times, and Washington Post. Conservative news sources include: New York Post, New York Daily News, Cincinnati Enquirer, Dallas Morning News, Arizona Republic, Colorado Springs Gazette, Spokesman Review, and Washington Times.