|
Reefer Madness!
GAINESVILLE, Ga. / October 14, 2010 - On a border lake in Texas, pirates kill a U.S. citizen on a jet ski vacation. The lead investigator's head is delivered in a suitcase. In California, marijuana possession joins jaywalking as an infraction penalized by a simple fine. And with Prop 19 on the table, the state inches closer by the day to marijuana legalization. Shocking to some, these headlines don't surprise researchers at The Socionomics Institute. According to a 2009 report from the Georgia-based think tank, "As the death toll among Americans rises, the public will become open to what may seem like radical ideas about how to best deal with marijuana use in society…it appears inevitable that drug-related carnage -- and public disgust with it -- will spread." As with alcohol prohibition, marijuana legalization will be viewed as the quickest way to end the war on drugs -- and the quickest potential tax revenue to boost the ailing economy.
The Socionomics Institute studies social behavior as it relates to the financial markets and uses the markets to forecast monumental changes in society. In this case, researcher Euan Wilson finds that social mood, reflected in stock prices, governs society's tolerance for recreational drugs as detailed in the chart below.
According to the report, "during times of negative mood [and low stock prices]…people have other, bigger worries and begin to view recreational drugs as less dangerous, if not innocuous in offering stress relief, pain reduction and the ability to cope with the pressures of negative social mood."
Note to media: For a copy of the study or to arrange an interview with Euan Wilson, contact Alexandra Lienhard at (770) 536-0309, alexandral@socionomics.net.
* * * * *
About The Socionomics Institute
The Socionomics Institute, based in Gainesville, Ga., studies social mood
and its role in driving cultural trends. The Institute’s analysis is published
in the monthly research review, The Socionomist.
Their report on marijuana prohibition and the drug wars in Mexico is now available for free. Learn more at http://www.socionomics.net/ezine/soc/marijuana-prohibition-drug-wars-in-mexico-the-war-on-drugs.aspx.
Interested in learning more about the science of socionomics and cultural
trends?
The Socionomics Institute has tons of free resources available:
newly released articles, reports, videos and more. Click
here to sign up for your free resources now.
|