Rosalie Liccardo Pacula Jamie F. Chriqui Joanna King
Abstract
It is well known in the drug policy field that eleven states reduced the criminal sanctions associated with possession of small amounts of marijuana. In this paper we review the eleven original decriminalization statutes, documenting key dimensions of these laws and identifying their common denominator. We then examine state laws in effect as of December 31, 1999, along the same key dimensions and show that it is impossible to uniquely identify the so-called decriminalized states. We show the extent to which non-decriminalized states have also reduced penalties associated with possession of small amounts of marijuana as early as 1989, calling into question the interpretation of studies evaluating this policy during the past decade. We conclude by showing that the inclusion of legal dimensions of the policy does not diminish the association identified between decriminalization and recent use, raising questions about how researchers should interpret such findings.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
9690.
Length: Date of creation: May 2003 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9690
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Find related papers by JEL classification: I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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[Downloadable!]
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R. L. Pacula & M. Grossman & F. J. Chaloupka & P. M. O'Malley & L. Johnston & M. C. Farrelly, 2000.
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[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula & Michael Grossman & Frank J. Chaloupka & Patrick M. O’Malley & Lloyd D. Johnston & Matthew C. Farrelly, 2001.
"Marijuana and Youth,"
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in: Risky Behavior among Youths: An Economic Analysis, pages 271-326
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[Downloadable!]
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[Downloadable!]
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)