The Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Neighborhood Crime

Legal Dispensaries Lead to 19% Reduction in Neighborhood Crime

An interesting, Unappreciated Study,

The study titled "Not in my backyard? Not so fast. The effect of marijuana legalization on neighborhood crime" was conducted by Jeffrey Brinkman from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and David Mok-Lamme from Rocky Mountain Health Plans. Published in 2019 in the journal Regional Science and Urban Economics, this research investigates the short-run effects of marijuana legalization on neighborhood crime in Denver, Colorado. The study spans from 2013 to 2016, employing a retrospective cohort approach that leverages a rich geospatial dataset. Monthly data on dispensary locations and crime rates across Denver's census tracts allow for a granular analysis of changes over time. The researchers utilized an innovative identification strategy to address endogenous retail dispensary locations, providing robust causal inferences on how legalization impacts local crime rates. This study is particularly noteworthy as it adds to the limited body of resear…