High Priorities: Land Use, Marijuana, and Meta-Values

Authors

Spenser Owens, Washington University in St. Louis

Publication Title

Washington University Jurisprudence Review

Abstract

This Note will examine the motivations surrounding the adoption of zoning ordinances pertaining to the production and sale of marijuana through the lens of John Dewey’s theory of valuation. Applying Dewey’s theory to the zoning ordinances of a sampling of state and local governments, I will argue first that the choice of land uses to be regulated and restricted through local zoning ordinances is ultimately referable to values held by the community in which the ordinances are enacted. Second, I will argue that the decisions made on the state level carry more “value” as defined by Dewey’s theory and are, thus, entitled to greater weight if local zoning ordinances conflict with state law.

Recommended Citation

Spenser Owens, High Priorities: Land Use, Marijuana, and Meta-Values, 10 Wash. U. Jur. Rev. 293 (2018).
Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_jurisprudence/vol10/iss2/8