Legalization of Marijuana, ‘The Great American Social Experiment’

Legalization of Marijuana, ‘The Great American Social Experiment’

Legalization of Marijuana, ‘The Great American Social Experiment’

The great social experiment that is marijuana legalization is now 5 years old, with 6 states already allowing legal marijuana sales, two more where legal sales will begin within months, and yet another that, along with the District of Columbia, has legalized personal possession and cultivation of cannabis.

As a number of state legislatures including: Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York seriously contemplate joining the parade this year, it’s more important than ever to be able to assess just what impact marijuana legalization has had on those states that have led the way.


From hordes of dope-addled youths aimlessly wandering the streets to red-eyed carnage on the highway, the divination’s were dire.



1. Marijuana arrests plummeted.






High school kids in the earliest legalization states smoke pot at rates similar to kids in states that haven’t legalized it, and those rates have remained stable. In the later legalization states, rates of teen use vary widely, but have mostly stabilized or declined in the years leading up to legalization. And in those latest states: Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, California regulatory programs are either not yet in place or so new they are unlikely to have effected youth use rates.

4. The highways remain safe.



In Colorado, an upward trend in overdoses began to decline after Y 2014, the 1st year of retail marijuana sales in the state. Other positives come from medical marijuana states, which report a nearly 25% drop in overdose death rates, a 23% reduction in opioid addiction-related hospitalizations and a 15% reduction in opioid treatment admissions.

6. Marijuana tax revenues are big, and bigger than predicted.

Legalization states have collected more than a billion dollars in tax revenues, and that is not counting the huge California market, where recreational sales just began this month. Likewise, slow roll-outs of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce in Maine and Massachusetts, mean no tax dollars have yet been generated there. In the states that do have legal cannabis sales, overall sales and tax revenues quickly exceeded initial estimates.

7. Marijuana tax dollars are going for good things.

Like $230-M to the Colorado Department of Education in 2 years to fund school construction, early literacy, school health, and bullying prevention programs. Likewise, schools in Oregon get 40% of the marijuana  taxes and schools in Nevada will get $56-M in wholesale marijuana tax revenues. Oregon also allocates 20% of marijuana taxes for alcohol and drug treatment, while Washington kicks in 25%. In Washington state, 55% of the tax revenues fund basic health plans.

8. Legal marijuana is a job creation engine.

The legal marijuana industry has already created an estimated 200,000 full and part-time jobs, and that’s before California, Maine, and Massachusetts come online. As marijuana moves from the black market to legal markets, marijuana looks like a growth industry and job generator for years to come.




And what about the kids?

The report notes that while legalization has generally resulted in reducing historically high numbers of young people being stopped and arrested for pot offenses, these reductions are inconsistent, and in some circumstances, young people now comprise a growing percentage of marijuana arrests. A model could be California, where children under 18 can only be charged with civil infractions.


By Phillip Smith

Paul Ebeling, Editor



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Paul Ebeling


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