Working Paper: NBER ID: w25555
Authors: Jenny Williams; Rosalie Liccardo Pacula; Rosanna Smart
Abstract: This paper studies the impact of legal medical marijuana markets on the decision to quit marijuana use, distinguishing between de jure legalization, in which dispensaries are legally protected, and de facto legalization, where dispensaries operate in the absence of laws protecting them. Geographic and temporal variation in the presence of de facto and de jure legalized markets serve to identify their impact on quitting. Although we find little robust evidence that quitting by females is impacted by either the presence or protection of retail medical marijuana dispensaries, our results reveal significant, and ethnically differentiated responses by males. Minority males are found to delay quitting in response to legal protection of dispensaries, while white males delay quitting in response to operating dispensaries. This behavior is consistent with racial and ethnic differences in the risks of arrest for simple marijuana offences, particularly for black males.
Keywords: Medical Marijuana; Quit Behavior; Racial Differences; Legal Protections
JEL Codes: H75; I18; K42
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Operating retail dispensaries (L81) | Quitting behavior among non-Hispanic white males (J26) |
| Legal protection of dispensaries (K16) | Quitting rate among minority males (J79) |
| Legal protection of dispensaries (K16) | Quitting behavior among minority males (J26) |
| Operating retail dispensaries (L81) | Quitting behavior among females (J26) |
| Legal protection of dispensaries (K16) | Quitting behavior among females (J26) |