Cannabis Legalization and Sex-related Offenses in Colorado and Washington State: A Quasi-experimental Study

• In Event: Roundtable: Drugs & Substance Abuse

Abstract

The legalization of recreational cannabis is a controversial theme due to conflicting perspectives about the potential harms and benefits it can bring to society. By analyzing the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program data from 2007 to 2019, this study utilizes interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) and the synthetic control method (SCM) to assess the effects of cannabis legalization on the rates of a variety of sex offenses, including rape, prostitution, and other sex-related offenses in the two legalized states— Colorado (CO) and Washington State (WA). Our results indicate that CO experienced increases in the rate of prostitution and other sex-related offenses over the post-sale period, relative to the states that have not legalized this drug. However, this positive effect of legalization was not observed for rape and the other legalized state considered—WA. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of how recreational cannabis laws (RCL) influence different types of sex offenses, adding to the broader literature on the multifaceted societal impacts of this drug policy reform.

Authors

• Francisco Rebel Barros, University of Utah

• Guangzhen Wu, University of Utah