Effects of Drug Policy Liberalization on Public Safety: A Review of the Literature

This originally appeared at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4294150 Maria M. Orsini Ohio State University (OSU) – Department of Sociology December 5, 2022 Abstract After decades of criminalization, cannabis policy has liberalized rapidly throughout the U.S. in the 21st century. Following cannabis legalization in Colorado and Washington, legalization has gained momentum in many other U.S. states. While some states […]

Marijuana Legalization and Crime Clearance Rates: Testing Proponent Assertions in Colorado and Washington State

This originally appeared at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098611118786255 David A. Makin [email protected], Dale W. Willits, […], and Nicholas P. Lovrich+8View all authors and affiliations https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611118786255 Abstract The legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington state (I-502) and Colorado (A-64) created a natural experiment with ancillary unknowns. Of these unknowns, one of the more heavily debated is that of the […]

Impact of recreational marijuana legalization on crime: Evidence from Oregon

This originally appeared at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235220302361 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101742 Abstract The legalization of recreational marijuana is a pivotal policy change, and its social consequences remain largely unknown. Central to the public concern is its impact on crime, about which competing views exist and empirical studies have yielded mixed results. Based on Uniform (UCR) data from 2007 to 2017, […]

Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, 2018. Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado

This originally appeared at https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2021-SB13-283_Rpt.pdf Impact on Youth According to the most recent report, the proportion of Colorado high school students reporting using cannabis ever in their lifetime remained statistically stagnant from 36.9% in 2013 to 35.9% in 2019. In addition, Colorado’s 2019 rate of 35.9% was slightly lower than the national rate of 36.8% […]

Canada’s cannabis legalization and police-reported cannabis-related criminal incidents among youth, 2015–2021

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871623001308 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109892Get rights and content Abstract Background We previously reported that the 2018 Canadian Cannabis Act, allowing youth to possess up to 5 g dried cannabis or equivalent for personal use/sharing, was associated with short-term (76 days) post-legalization reduction in police-reported cannabis-related crimes among youth. To establish whether the change might be sustained, we now estimate […]

Albania takes step closer to legalising medical cannabis cultivation

Albania takes step closer to legalising medical cannabis cultivation Officials in Albania have approved a draft bill which would regulate the production and export of medicinal and industrial cannabis. On Friday 16 June, the Council of Ministers voted to approve a draft bill to legalise the production of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes. The […]

California announces $20M cannabis research grant recipients

This originally appeared at https://cannabis.ca.gov/2023/04/california-announces-20m-cannabis-research-grant-recipients/ Apr 25, 2023 Sixteen grant recipients will study medicinal use of cannabis, cannabis potency, health of the cannabis industry, monopolies and unfair competition, and California legacy genetics & genetic sequencing CALIFORNIA – The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) awarded $20 million in research grants to 16 academic institutions. These […]

Decriminalization of marijuana opens doors for some scientists

A growing interest in cannabis has led to new career opportunities This originally appeared at https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-022-01761-5/index.html Here’s an odd job in science: on a regular basis, Natasha Mason, a psychopharmacology postdoctoral researcher at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, offers cannabis to her study participants. They get the drug for free — but there’s a catch. […]

NCAA Panel Recommends Removing Marijuana From Banned Substances List For College Athletes

This originally appeared at https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/6/16/media-center-csmas-signals-its-support-for-removing-cannabis-from-banned-drug-list-and-drug-testing-protocols.aspx The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports signaled its support for removing cannabis from the Association’s banned drug list and testing protocols. The committee will gather input from the membership this summer, with final action expected in the fall.  This issue was referred to the committee, […]

The effect of marijuana legalization on neighborhood crime

This originally appeared at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016604621830293X# Abstract This paper studies the effects of marijuana legalization on neighborhood crime and documents the patterns in retail dispensary locations over time using detailed micro-level data from Denver, Colorado. To account for endogenous retail dispensary locations, we use a novel identification strategy that exploits exogenous changes in demand across different […]