Americans' Attitudes toward Drug-Related Issues from 1975–2006: The Roles of Period and Cohort Effects

Despite the importance of the “war on drugs,” little research has examined Americans' attitudes toward drug-related issues. In particular, the extant literature has not considered period and cohort effects for views about drug control issues, although there are theoretical reasons to expect both to be important. In this paper the roles of period and cohort effects, net of individual-level predictors, for attitudes toward both governmental spending to address drug addiction and legalizing marijuana use were examined. Data from the General Social Surveys (1975 through 2006) were used. The logistic regression results showed variations in attitudes over time for both addiction spending and legalizing marijuana use. Cohort effects were also evident. The results suggest that a liberalization of attitudes, both over time and across cohorts, may be occurring, especially for the legalization of marijuana use.