Why Do Some People Want to Legalize Cannabis Use?

Jenny Williams, Jan van Ours and Michael Grossman

No 16795, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Preferences and attitudes to illicit drug policy held by individuals are likely to be an important influence in the development of illicit drug policy. Among the key factors impacting on an individual's preferences over substance use policy are their beliefs about the costs and benefits of drug use, their own drug use history, and the extent of drug use amongst their peers. We use data from the Australian National Drug Strategy's Household Surveys to study these preferences. We find that current use and past use of cannabis are major determinants of being in favor of legalization. These results control for reverse causality from favorable attitudes to use. We also find that cannabis users are more in favor of legalization the longer they have used cannabis and, among past users, the more recent their own drug using experience. This may reflect that experience with cannabis provides information about the costs and benefits of using this substance. Finally, we uncover some evidence that peers' use of cannabis impacts on preferences towards legalization.

JEL-codes: C31 I10 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-02
Note: EH
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published as as “Attitudes to Legalizing Cannabis Use” Health Economics 25, No. 9 (2016), pp. 12012-1216

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Working Paper: Why do some people want to legalize cannabis use? (2011)
Working Paper: Why Do Some People Want to Legalize Cannabis Use? (2011)
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