Policy Transfer Case Study

This essay will argue what is a policy transfer and especially take under consideration the case study “the legalisation of marijuana in America as an example of Policy Transfer. It will then make referments to the

Dolowitz and Marsh article which describe in four main sections what is a policy transfer, how does it grow, who are the main actors, who benefit from it and how policy transfer can become a success and how a failure.

According to Dolowitz and Marsh article (2000), policy transfer is the knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political system (past or present) used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political system.

Many cases of transfer involved voluntary and forced elements.

Policy transfer is not always successful. Governments borrow policies believing that if the policy works in a country, it should work as well in another one. Three are the main factors which lead to the failure.

Firstly, borrowing country could have a low knowledge about the policy and about how it operates.

Secondly, what makes the policy successful may not be transferred into the other country and thirdly,

Governments might not pay attention to the differences between the political, social and economic

System between the two countries. Policy transfer is a useful variable because it’s necessary to go back to the policy transfer that has occurred to understand the development of politics even if it can be related also to a failure.

This essay will now take under consideration the policy transfer of the legalisation of marijuana in America.

In 1900, 1920s the use of marijuana was seen as using poison, then in 1930s marijuana was considered a drug in every state under federal law. If federal governments pass a law for decriminalize marijuana for recreational and medical use, this one can be used. Marijuana has been a legal and legislative

People over 21 could have an ounce of marijuana for recreational use as the amendment 64 said. Then in the following years, until 2016 a lot of states in America such as Alaska, Mexico, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon wanted to legalize marijuana. On the 16th September 2015, there was a will of legalizing marijuana globally. Italy,

Denmark and the United Kingdom want to legalize cannabis (Unknown,2017). As we all know, marijuana is an illegal substance. It was banned by the Federal Government in 1937 but then it was considered as a substance that can be used for medical purpose and for this reason, there is the possibility of abusing it. A

Congress member from Colorado, Jared wanted to remove marijuana from the CSA. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use. Then, other 23 states have legalized it with the same purpose. In November 2014, governments allow the possess and the cultivation of it but not the sales at D.C. In the day of the elections, a lot of American states vote for the legalisation of marijuana to end the prohibition. From Los Angeles to Boston, states are willing to change their