Cargando…

The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006

BACKGROUND: Debate has surrounded the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for decades. Some have argued medical marijuana legalization (MML) poses a threat to public health and safety, perhaps also affecting crime rates. In recent years, some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medic...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Morris, Robert G., TenEyck, Michael, Barnes, J. C., Kovandzic, Tomislav V.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3966811/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24671103
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092816
_version_ 1782308945933631488
author Morris, Robert G.
TenEyck, Michael
Barnes, J. C.
Kovandzic, Tomislav V.
author_facet Morris, Robert G.
TenEyck, Michael
Barnes, J. C.
Kovandzic, Tomislav V.
author_sort Morris, Robert G.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Debate has surrounded the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for decades. Some have argued medical marijuana legalization (MML) poses a threat to public health and safety, perhaps also affecting crime rates. In recent years, some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, reigniting political and public interest in the impact of marijuana legalization on a range of outcomes. METHODS: Relying on U.S. state panel data, we analyzed the association between state MML and state crime rates for all Part I offenses collected by the FBI. FINDINGS: Results did not indicate a crime exacerbating effect of MML on any of the Part I offenses. Alternatively, state MML may be correlated with a reduction in homicide and assault rates, net of other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: These findings run counter to arguments suggesting the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes poses a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crimes.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3966811
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2014
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-39668112014-03-31 The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006 Morris, Robert G. TenEyck, Michael Barnes, J. C. Kovandzic, Tomislav V. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Debate has surrounded the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for decades. Some have argued medical marijuana legalization (MML) poses a threat to public health and safety, perhaps also affecting crime rates. In recent years, some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, reigniting political and public interest in the impact of marijuana legalization on a range of outcomes. METHODS: Relying on U.S. state panel data, we analyzed the association between state MML and state crime rates for all Part I offenses collected by the FBI. FINDINGS: Results did not indicate a crime exacerbating effect of MML on any of the Part I offenses. Alternatively, state MML may be correlated with a reduction in homicide and assault rates, net of other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: These findings run counter to arguments suggesting the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes poses a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crimes. Public Library of Science 2014-03-26 /pmc/articles/PMC3966811/ /pubmed/24671103 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092816 Text en © 2014 Morris et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Morris, Robert G.
TenEyck, Michael
Barnes, J. C.
Kovandzic, Tomislav V.
The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title_full The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title_fullStr The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title_short The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
title_sort effect of medical marijuana laws on crime: evidence from state panel data, 1990-2006
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3966811/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24671103
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092816
work_keys_str_mv AT morrisrobertg theeffectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT teneyckmichael theeffectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT barnesjc theeffectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT kovandzictomislavv theeffectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT morrisrobertg effectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT teneyckmichael effectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT barnesjc effectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006
AT kovandzictomislavv effectofmedicalmarijuanalawsoncrimeevidencefromstatepaneldata19902006