Diffusion and Typology: The Invention and Early Adoption of Medicinal Marijuana and Offshore Wind Policies

Objective This article investigates how different types of policies (morality based and highly technical) inform early‐stage policy learning and diffusion processes. Methods Using process tracing, interviews, archival research, and cross‐case analysis, this article describes and compares the emergence of medical marijuana and offshore wind energy policies in U.S. states. Using iterative data collection and analysis, the study identifies which factors proffered by the literature affect the policy learning and diffusion process. Results Despite representing different types of policies, there were significant similarities across both cases: State actors drew lessons from Europe; policy lessons from Europe were weaponized by national political interests in an effort to stymy state‐level diffusion; and, as policies diffused to other states, organized opposition curtailed. Conclusion This study demonstrates how the stage of diffusion can be as determinative of the policy learning context as the type of policy, and highlights how the diffusion and typology literatures can inform each other.