Cannabis

Featured

  • Cannabis green leaves in medical plus sign emblem frame on white background, photo by Amax Photo/Getty Images

    Journal Article

    The Kids Aren't Alright: The Effects of Medical Marijuana Market Size on Adolescents

    Combining a novel measure of market size with two shocks to U.S. federal enforcement policy, researchers find that legal medical market growth increases youth cannabis use and alcohol-involved car accidents, suggesting complementarities for youths. It’s unclear whether these results apply to cannabis legalization for nonmedical purposes.

    Dec 9, 2022

  • A potted cannabis plant, photo by MiMaLeFi/Adobe Stock

    Report

    The Varied Supply Models for Recreational Cannabis

    The supply and possession of cannabis for non-medical use is legal in multiple jurisdictions around the globe, with some U.S. states and Canadian provinces allowing for-profit companies to produce and sell cannabis. What are potential options that step away from prohibition without allowing a profit-oriented market to emerge?

    Nov 1, 2023

Explore Cannabis

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    Report

    Multinational Overview of Cannabis Production Regimes

    Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice, this international stocktaking of cannabis production includes a special focus on identifying and describing official policies on production regimes for non-medical and non-scientific purposes.

    Dec 23, 2013

  • A vendor displays products at the High Times U.S. Cannabis Cup in Seattle, Washington September 8, 2013. The Cup features exhibitions as well as a marijuana growing competition.

    Report

    Marijuana Consumption in Washington State Twice as Large as Previously Estimated

    In Washington state, marijuana consumption likely will range from 135 to 225 metric tons during 2013. Understanding the current market should help state policymakers with decisions about the number of marijuana sales licenses to issue, to project tax revenues, and provide a foundation for assessments of legalization.

    Dec 18, 2013

  • News Release

    News Release

    Marijuana Consumption in Washington State Twice as Large as Previously Estimated

    In Washington state, marijuana consumption likely will range from 135 to 225 metric tons during 2013. Understanding the current market should help state policymakers with decisions about the number of marijuana sales licenses to issue, to project tax revenues, and provide a foundation for assessments of legalization.

    Dec 18, 2013

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Statistics on Cannabis Users Skew Perceptions of Cannabis Use

    Collecting information about the prevalence of cannabis use is necessary but not sufficient for understanding the size, dynamics, and outcomes associated with cannabis markets.

    Nov 1, 2013

  • A man lights a marijuana cigarette.

    Commentary

    Has U.S. Gone Further Than Netherlands Over Marijuana?

    Colorado and Washington will remove the prohibition on commercial marijuana production and distribution for nonmedical purposes and start regulating and taxing it. Not even the Netherlands goes that far, writes Beau Kilmer.

    Oct 18, 2013

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Selection and Influence Mechanisms Associated with Marijuana Initiation and Use in Adolescent Friendship Networks

    Friends are thought to influence adolescent drug use.

    Sep 1, 2013

  • rally to legalize marijuana

    Report

    Developing Public Health Regulations for Legal Marijuana

    At a RAND Drug Policy Research Center program, health policy professors as well as economists and behavioral scientists talked about how to develop public health regulations for legal marijuana.

    Jun 26, 2013

  • protest against violence in Juarez, Mexico

    Commentary

    Legalization in the U.S. and Crime in Mexico

    Driving Mexican marijuana out of the U.S. would probably reduce the traffickers' export revenue by a few billion dollars a year, writes Beau Kilmer. But would reducing that revenue lead to a corresponding decrease in trafficker violence?

    May 23, 2013

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Quasi-legal Cannabis in Colorado and Washington: Local and National Implications

    In November 2012, Washington state and Colorado took the unprecedented step of legalizing commercial production and sale of cannabis for adult use, but all cannabis-related activities remain prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

    May 1, 2013

  • Visuals showing suppprt for marijuana legalization in Washington state and how tax revenues will benefit the community

    Commentary

    7 Key Questions on Marijuana Legalization

    Policymakers in Washington and Colorado are confronting some new and tricky issues that have never been addressed. For them, and for anyone else thinking about changing their pot laws, there are seven key decision areas that will shape the costs and benefits of marijuana legalization.

    Apr 26, 2013

  • rally to legalize marijuana

    Blog

    Ask Me Anything: Beau Kilmer Answers Drug Policy Questions on Reddit

    Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center and coauthor of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know, hosted an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session on Reddit this week. He fielded questions from participants on a variety of drug policy issues.

    Apr 26, 2013

  • marijuana money

    Journal Article

    Options for Collecting Revenue from Legal Marijuana

    Potential tax rates and revenues have been a common theme in discussions about legalizing marijuana. However, policy goals, types of taxes, and components of revenue are also important to consider.

    Jan 1, 2013

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Estimating the Size of the EU Cannabis Market

    This report generates estimates of retail cannabis expenditure in the EU using new data about cannabis consumption and expenditures from a web survey conducted in seven Member States.

    Jan 1, 2013

  • teenage boy by river

    Journal Article

    Middle Schoolers Overestimate How Many of Their Peers Drink, Smoke, and Use

    Adolescents' perceptions of peer substance use grow significantly during their middle school years. These can affect current and future use. Early interventions that limit this influential factor may be appropriate during this developmental period.

    Jan 1, 2013

  • News Release

    News Release

    The Illicit Drug Landscape in the U.S and Paths for Future Efforts

    The nature of the American drug problem has changed substantially over the last 20 years. It is now less of a crime problem illustrated by drug market violence and more of a health problem with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and a criminal justice problem of burdensome incarceration rates.

    Sep 18, 2012

  • Commentary

    How Might the Federal Government React if States Legalize Marijuana?

    This November, Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado voters will consider ballot measures to legalize the production, distribution, and possession of marijuana for nonmedical purposes. Even if voters pass these measures at the state level, marijuana will still be prohibited by the federal government, writes Beau Kilmer.

    Sep 12, 2012

  • Woman looking in medicine cabinet

    Report

    Insights and Opportunities for Improving U.S. Drug Policy

    The nature of the American drug problem has changed substantially over the last 20 years. It is now less of a crime problem illustrated by drug market violence and more of a health problem with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and a criminal justice problem of burdensome incarceration rates.

    Sep 5, 2012

  • Congressional Briefing Podcast

    Multimedia

    Marijuana Legalization: What We Know and What We Don't

    In this July 2012 Congressional Briefing, researchers from the RAND Drug Policy Research Center discuss marijuana legalization, how it differs from decriminalization, its possible consequences, and federal response to state initiatives.

    Jul 17, 2012

  • Closeup of a hand holding a lit marijuana cigarette

    Commentary

    Can Marijuana Use Lead to Dependence or Addiction?

    Someone who uses cocaine every other day or more often is probably cocaine dependent; someone who uses marijuana every other day or more often is probably not cannabis dependent. In this regard, marijuana resembles alcohol more than it does the “hard” drugs.

    Jul 12, 2012

  • Cannabis plants

    Commentary

    The Marijuana Exception

    Being honest about the uncertainties involved is the price of admission to any serious discussion about marijuana legalization, writes Beau Kilmer.

    Apr 23, 2012

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