The Cross-Border Spillover Effects of Recreational Marijuana Legalization

Zhuang Hao and Benjamin Cowan

No 23426, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We examine the spillover effects of recreational marijuana legalization (RML) in Colorado and Washington on neighboring states. We find that RML causes a sharp increase in marijuana possession arrests in border counties of neighboring states relative to non-border counties in these states. RML has no impact on juvenile marijuana possession arrests but is rather fully concentrated among adults. Using separate data on self-reported marijuana use, we show this is accompanied by an increase in use in neighboring states relative to non-neighboring states. We do not find conclusive evidence that marijuana sale/manufacture arrests, DUI arrests, or opium/cocaine possession arrests in border states are affected by RML.

JEL-codes: I12 I18 K14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-int and nep-law
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Published as Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2020. "THE CROSS‐BORDER SPILLOVER EFFECTS OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION," Economic Inquiry, vol 58(2), pages 642-666.

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