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Title: The Effects of Heterogeneous Marijuana Policy Legalization in California on Surrounding Environments
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2022
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Abstract: Despite the existence of legal markets for both medical and recreational marijuana in California, the illicit market for marijuana still represents the majority in the state. With strict regulations and financial requirements accompanying marijuana policies, many participants in the industry continue to buy and sell in the illegal market to avoid extra costs. However, these costs are realized indirectly through impacts on the social and ecological environment. This dissertation analyses the impact marijuana policies on local crimes, forest cover change, and on the racial composition of the prison population. My research suggests that local government officials must consider the varying impact each marijuana policy has on the social and ecological environment of the area to ensure that policies maximize potential benefits and minimize negative externalities. The first chapter examines whether medical and recreational marijuana legalization policies effectively induce changes in municipal crime rates by reducing drug crimes and the strain on local law enforcement. I find that medical marijuana legalization has significant reduction in property and violent crime rates from key policies. The second chapter of this paper analyzes the environmental impact of The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) and Proposition 47. By allowing adults 21 and over to possess and grow specified amounts of marijuana for recreational use and legalizing sales, Proposition 64 decreased the incentive for many to illegally grow in forested areas. Proposition 47 reclassified some marijuana offenses from felony to misdemeanor. Using the Hansen forest cover data on forested areas in California, this chapter provides a look into the impacts of marijuana legalization on the surroundings. I find that municipalities that choose to legalize homegrowing indoors and home growing outdoor policies have increases in forest cover loss. The final section examines the impacts of California Propositions 64 (2016) and 47 (2014) on arrest rates within each county across the state. Using law enforcement reported arrest data from the California Department of Justice in conjunction with administrative government data on marijuana policies, I find heterogenous impacts of recreational policies from Proposition 64 and disproportionate impacts when the race of the arrestee is considered. This shows the importance of examining policy impacts on different populations and not passing broad policy. It also highlights the continued impacts of racial bias in arrests that lead to sustained racial disproportions in our prison systems. While the disparities in racial populations could be a result of disproportionate involvement in crimes, the differences in policy impacts on arrest rates as race changes suggests another driver of racial imbalance. This is an important issue to research as existing bias in law enforcement weakens the integrity of the legal system and its reliability in society.
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Authors: Price, Gina Ayana
Institution: The Ohio State University
Department: Agricultural, Environmental & Developmental Economics
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Pages: 1-241
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Crime and Deviance, Natural Resource Management, Race and Ethnicity
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