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Legalizing Cannabis: Implications for Child Maltreatment

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  • Weiwei Chen
  • Johanna Catherine Maclean
  • Michael T. French

Abstract

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in the United States. Though cannabis possession and consumption are prohibited federally, states are increasingly implementing laws that legalize this substance, initially for medical and, more recently, for recreational use. We study the impact of recreational cannabis laws on child maltreatment reports. To do so, we employ difference-in-differences and event-study methods to analyze administrative data on child maltreatment reports as well as child injury-related deaths 2010-2022. We find that recent efforts to legalize cannabis for recreational consumption have not led to an increase in child maltreatment reports and may reduce particularly severe maltreatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Weiwei Chen & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael T. French, 2026. "Legalizing Cannabis: Implications for Child Maltreatment," NBER Working Papers 34673, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34673
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • K0 - Law and Economics - - General

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