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Marijuana

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Report

How Big Is the U.S. Market for Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroin, and Meth?

Aug 20, 2019

Americans spent about $150 billion on cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in 2016—rivaling U.S. spending on alcohol. This number is driven in large part by the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis.
News Release

Young Adults Who Live Near Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Use Marijuana More Often, Have More-Positive Views

Jun 17, 2019

Young adults who live in neighborhoods with more medical marijuana dispensaries use marijuana more frequently than their peers and have more-positive views about the drug. The associations were strongest among young adults who lived near dispensaries that had storefront signs.

Explore Marijuana

Journal Article

Words Can Be Deceiving: A Review of Variation Among Legally Effective Medical Marijuana Laws in the United States

This study seeks to clarify the characteristics of state medical marijuana laws (MMLs) in place since 1990 that are most relevant to consumers/patients and categorizes those aspects most likely to affect the prevalence of use, and consequently the intensity of public health and welfare effects.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Is Marijuana Use a Factor in Teenage Antisocial Behavior?

Despite efforts to curb substance use and abuse, marijuana consumption continues to be a problem among young adults. Analysis of a nationally representative sample revealed a significant association between marijuana use and antisocial behavior in young adults, with higher levels of antisocial behavior among heavy users.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Assessing the Effects of Medical Marijuana Laws on Marijuana Use: The Devil Is in the Details

This paper sheds light on previous inconsistencies identified in the literature regarding the relationship between medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and recreational marijuana use by closely examining the importance of policy and the timing of when particular policy dimensions are enacted.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Policy Designs for Cannabis Legalization: Starting with the Eight Ps

This paper does not address the question of whether cannabis should be legal; it instead focuses on the design considerations confronting jurisdictions that are pondering a change in cannabis policy.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Natural Experiments in a Complex and Dynamic Environment: The Need for a Measured Assessment of the Evidence

The shift from punitive prohibition to legalizing marijuana at the state (or federal) level may produce a net social benefit.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Marijuana Liberalization Policies: Why We Can't Learn Much from Policy Still in Motion

Much remains unanswered about the potential effects of marijuana liberalization policies because the most relevant questions have yet to be fully considered and addressed.

Jan 1, 2014
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
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
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 17, 2013
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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

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

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