Adolescent Drug Use Following Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

• In Event: Drugs: Markets and Policy Considerations

Abstract

The legalization of possession and use of recreational marijuana as well as the opening of recreational dispensaries is a seismic shift in marijuana law policy. One of the most salient arguments in both criminology and popular culture is in regards to adolescent drug use and abuse. The current project utilizes a difference-in-differences approach to analyze the effects of these policy changes independent of each other. First examining the effects of legalized possession and use and then the effects of opening recreational dispensaries on various adolescent drug use outcomes.

Author

• Ty Miller, Winthrop University