ABSTRACT
Online drug dealing to date largely has transpired through darknet crypto-markets inaccessible to outsiders without remote site access or knowledge of trade jargon, processes, and transaction steps. Surface web search engines are increasingly driving the marijuana market, however, and apt to minimize darknet activity. This study relates covert participant observations of illicit surface web-dependent delivery services in Las Vegas’ robust marijuana industry for 20 months prior to the COVID pandemic. Interaction with employees from seven unlicensed delivery services enabled exploratory insights regarding grey market advertising, transaction dynamics, industry regulatory noncompliance, and related degree of concern about law enforcement. Findings suggest that unlicensed services are masked by medical and recreational markets, maximize profit by predating upon exploitable market segments and manipulating economies of scale, and brazenly operate openly unflustered about enforcement intervention. Discussion centers on industry noncompliance and related pubic harm associated from tax and fee avoidance as a consequence of grey market non-enforcement as well as suggestions for further research. © 2021, Southern Criminal Justice Association.
ABSTRACT
The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community found itself on the front pages of national news when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States. By April 2020, the small, frequently overlooked community experienced the highest COVID-19 case rates in 5 states including Hawai'i. In response, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander networks across the US were mobilized to address the crisis. In Hawai'i, the Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team was created. Framed by Indigenous Pacific based cultural values, protocols, and practices, the team consists of multiple committees that examine policy;testing, contract tracing, and isolation;communications;social supports and resources;and data and research. Inherent in this work are the shared core values of pono (righteousness, goodness), aloha (love, compassion), laulima (cooperation), and imua (moving forward with strength) as well as an 'ohana/aiga (family)-based, kuleana (responsibility)-centric approach that acknowledges, honors, and values 'ike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge). With the burden of not only COVID-19 disparities, but also chronic diseases and socioeconomic disparities that place Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities at increased risk for adverse impacts from COVID-19, an effective response is critical. This article, authored by members of the Team's Policy Committee, discusses the development of a cultural framework that guides its advocacy efforts. The Policy Committee's work presents a cultural framework that grounds and guides their efforts for effectively promoting a strong voice in governmental and agency policies which would ultimately contribute to a healthy and thriving Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. ©Copyright 2021 by University Health Partners of Hawai‘i (UHP Hawai‘i).
ABSTRACT
In this article, we evaluate gender differences in COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs. We find that women are significantly less likely than men to endorse COVID-19 conspiracy theories and that this gender difference cuts across party lines. Our analysis suggests that this gender gap is partially explained by two dispositional factors: learned helplessness and conspiratorial thinking. Our findings qualify past work on the antecedents of conspiracy theory beliefs, which does not uncover robust and significant gender differences. The results highlight the need for work in this area to better theorize about the significance of gender.