Group Model of Drug Laws

According to the group model of law, laws result from a battle between competing groups, each trying to impose their concept of morality and justice onto the body of law. The group that compiles the most resources shapes the law in its image. These groups are issue-specific—they do not correlate to Democrats or Republicans, young or old, or north or south, and unlike the elite model of law, these groups are made up of coalitions of elites and non-elites.

Important agents in these conflicts are moral entrepreneurs: individuals who set out to champion a specific moral cause. Moral entrepreneurs may be politicians, or may campaign for office on a platform based around that cause, or they may be simple activists—even apolitical—depending on the cause. Movements in ...