The positive impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado.
“One of the first things taught in introductory statistics textbooks is that correlation is not causation. It is also one of the first things forgotten.” ~ Thomas Sowell, The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
Earlier this year, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Public Safety released its Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado. The report contains information about how cannabis has impacted Colorado since cannabis legalization in 2012.
Measuring and understanding the impact of cannabis in Colorado is a difficult task. As the Impact report says early, “The information presented here should be interpreted with caution.” Changes in societal views of cannabis have not been uniform throughout the state and as such, data related to cannabis is not uniformly reported. Additionally, pre-legalization data regarding cannabis may not exist, rendering interpretations of post-legalization data somewhat open-ended.
As a cannabis consumer, in addition to my own observations and political views, I read the Impact report and came away with the impression legalization of cannabis in Colorado has been largely successful. Some problems may exist as the cannabis industry matures. I cover three areas of public policy concerns regarding cannabis and briefly highlight points of concern and interest. At the end, I present my conclusion that cannabis legalization has gone about as well as expected.
Cannabis Sales Tax Revenue
In late 2016, a then-mayor of Manitou Springs told a local television news outlet the city was too reliant on cannabis sales tax revenue and sought to find alternatives to fund the city’s ballooning budget. In the same article, a Manitou Springs city councilor bragged about cannabis legalization, “It’s been needed in Manitou for a long time. We’ve been able to do a lot of good things with it.”
In Colorado, nearly 60% of licenses for cannabis businesses, both medical and recreational, were registered in three counties, including El Paso which also has the highest number of medical cannabis patients. Denver has seen a reduction in cannabis licenses; however, sales tax revenue from existing dispensaries have tripled and are now estimated at $70 million and roughly 5% of Denver’s general fund.
State sales taxes from cannabis related fees, licenses, and taxes climbed sharply from $67 million in 2014 to $387 million by 2020. School capital construction fund and public-school funds via cannabis sales taxes also jumped 264%, from $33 million in 2015 to $120 million in 2020.
In 2018, Manitou Springs public school officials considered raising taxes to pay for security guards, illustrating that at least in one city, public school officials hardly view cannabis as detrimental to their student’s or families’ lives. Denver’s utilization of cannabis sales tax revenue for “affordable housing” and other social issues reflects a priority for some governments in Colorado to maximize taxation of the production and consumption of cannabis regardless of for public safety.
Public Safety & Public Health
Disproportionate harms towards minority groups caused by the War on Drugs ultimately paved the road to “defund the police.” Legalizing cannabis ended some of the horrors of the War on Drugs as arrests for minority groups have declined.
Cannabis arrests decreased 68% between 2012-2019 but Hispanics and Blacks both are still disproportionately targeted by law enforcement. The cannabis arrest rate for Blacks is double that for whites. “This disparity has not changed in any meaningful way since legalization,” the Impact bluntly states. Cannabis-related misdemeanors and petty offenses have also dropped since 2012 though felonies rebounded in 2019.
DUI summons issued by the Colorado State Patrol for cannabis-only or “marijuana-in combination” saw an increase of 120% between 2012-2020. Fatal accidents in which a driver tested positive for THC remained steady from 52 fatalities in 2016 (14% of all fatalities) to 56 in 2019 (13% of all fatalities).
Impact on Youth
Cannabis legalization has not produced overtly negative consequences among Colorado’s youth. They seem more aware of cannabis and understand the benefits and harms. They seem more likely to shun cigarettes and alcohol.
The Impact notes, “youth alcohol and cigarette use trended downward, with the largest reduction linked to current alcohol use, down from 47.4% in 2005 to 29.6% in 2019.”
Young kids are not experimenting with cannabis after legalization. “The proportion of students trying marijuana before the age of 13 significantly decreased in Colorado, from 9.2% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2019.” Nationally, the 21.7% of high school students reported consuming cannabis in the past 30 days was higher than Colorado’s reported rate of 20.6%.
Expulsions or suspensions from public schools related to cannabis dropped between 2013 and 2018, further reflecting changes school administrators’ approach to “drug discipline” as described in the Impact report. Prior to legalization, perhaps a negative stigma of cannabis held by school administrators led to suspensions and expulsions, but it today may be a different story as those same administrators, once ready and willing to suspend students over cannabis, may not do so today.
Conclusion
Overall, the impact of cannabis legalization in Colorado has been a story of the industries maturing with growing pains. Societally, awareness and acceptance of cannabis has increased. Negative consequences associated with consumption remain largely unchanged since legalization.
Additionally, the sky didn’t fall; however, legalization did create a few unintended consequences.
Governmental exploitation of cannabis sales tax revenue is a worrisome trend as it holds the industries hostage to political winds. Disparities in arrest rates based on race continue in Colorado and are cause for concern. Overregulation and over-taxation of the cannabis industries has provided incentives for black market operations to thrive.
Regardless of statistics or data or numbers, one thing is true: cannabis ain’t for everyone. It shouldn’t be marketed as a cure-all. For many people, cannabis helps with their physical or other ailments. For others, cannabis is the worst possible drug ever and may induce further medical complications. In the end, as the cannabis industries mature in Colorado, so too will their consumers.
