Cannabis Legalization and Decriminalization In New Jersey: Cross-Jurisdictional Impacts on Crime and Communities

• In Event: Policy Panel: Recreational Marijuana Legalization in New Jersey: Examining Public Opinion, Policy Change, and Crime Impacts

Abstract

Objective: This study estimates the impact of recreational marijuana legalization on the crime rate in New Jersey, where legalization was signed into law in February 2021. It extends existing evidence suggesting a null or minimal impact of legalization for public safety in states at the forefront of legalization by focusing on a state featuring a distinct reform timeline, regional location, and political landscape.

Data and Methods: The analysis uses a multi-year panel of arrest data from three proximate jurisdictions with varied marijuana laws: New Jersey (legal – medical and recreational), Wilmington, Delaware (illegal recreational; legal medical), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (locally decriminalized recreational; statewide legal medical). It identifies the effect of recreational legalization in New Jersey using a difference-in-difference-in-difference estimation strategy, with Philadelphia and Wilmington serving as the counterfactual jurisdictions to distill causal effects.

Findings: Findings demonstrate the immediate effect of recreational marijuana legalization on crime in New Jersey, providing robust empirical evidence of the effect of legalization on crime in a densely populated Northeastern state.

Discussion/Implications: The discussion describes how results can inform ongoing policy debates about legalization inclusive of this salient concern to lawmakers and voters alike, particularly in similar (and dissimilar) states considering such reforms.

Authors

• Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Nate Link, Rutgers University, Camden

• Kathleen Powell, Drexel University