MacCoun, R. J., Kahan, J., Gillespie, J., & Rhee, J. (1993). A content analysis of the drug legalization debate. Journal of Drug Issues, 23, 615-629.

Analyzed 2 samples of opinion essays from US newspapers to examine differences in the content and complexity of argumentation in the drug legalization debate. Content analyses of 51 New York Times essays over a 20-yr span of the 1970s and 1980s and 133 essays from 27 newspapers across the country in 1989 and 1990 suggest that the debate has shifted over time from decriminalization of marijuana, based on the civil rights of users, to legalization of cocaine and heroin, based on the perceived need to disrupt the connection between drugs and crime. Proponents of legalization provided significantly more complex arguments than proponents of continued prohibition.