 PhotoCred: pexels-rodnae-productions-8140287 Legalizing cannabis does lead to more consumption. Obviously! But it has also led to a decrease in the consumption of other drugs.
A recent study was done, called, “Trends in Alcohol, Cigarette, E-Cigarette, and Nonprescribed Pain Reliever Use Among Young Adults in Washington State After Legalization of Nonmedical Cannabis.” The young adults they studied over a few years were split into two groups, ages “18-20,” and “21-25”. The study did suggest that legalization could have increased cannabis consumption of up to 20%, however, this was in conjunction with a decrease in other things. They wrote, “Contrary to concerns about spillover effects, implementation of legalized nonmedical cannabis coincided with decreases in alcohol and cigarette use and pain reliever misuse.” The study also pointed out that, “on average, roughly 40% of inmates who are incarcerated for violent offenses were under the influence of alcohol during the time of their crime.” And those, “offenses range from minor to serious and include property crime, public-order offenses, driving while intoxicated, assault and homicide.” “An estimated 1.4 million incidents of alcohol-related violence are committed against strangers each year.” As most cannabis consumers know, and other studies have shown, cannabis use tends to promote more feelings of calm and relaxation, as opposed to alcohol, which often makes people more aggressive and beligerant. So with more people choosing cannabis over alcohol, there is potentially a decrease in at least some of these alcohol fueled violent crimes, as well as a decrease in alcohol related disease. Comments are closed.
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