Dealing with the Stimulus
Illegal drugs and public corruption: Crack based evidence from California
Alessandro Flamini, Babak Jahanshahi & Kamiar Mohaddes
European Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Do illegal drugs foster public corruption? To estimate the causal effect of drugs on public corruption, we adopt the synthetic control method and exploit the fact that crack cocaine markets emerged in California in 1981, before reaching any other U.S. state. Our results show that public corruption more than tripled in California in the first three years following the arrival of crack cocaine. We argue that this resulted from the particular characteristics of illegal drugs: cheap technology and rigid demand, which fosters a convergence of interests between criminals and corrupted public officials resulting in a positive causal impact of illegal drugs on corruption.
Does Marijuana Legalization Affect Work Capacity? Evidence from Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Rahi Abouk et al.
NBER Working Paper, February 2021
Abstract:
We study the effect of state recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) on workers’ compensation (WC) benefit receipt among adults 40-62 years. We find that WC receipt declines in response to RML adoption both in terms of the propensity to receive benefits and benefit amount. We estimate complementary declines in non-traumatic workplace injury rates and the incidence of work-limiting disabilities. We offer evidence that the primary driver of these reductions is an improvement in work capacity, likely due to access to an additional form of pain management therapy.
Hits from the Bong: The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries on Property Values
Danna Thomas & Lin Tian
Regional Science and Urban Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We exploit a natural experiment in Washington state that randomly allocates recreational marijuana retail licenses to estimate the capitalization effects of dispensaries into property sale prices. Developing a new cross-validation procedure to define the treatment radius, we estimate difference-in-differences, triple difference, and instrumental variables models. We find statistically significant negative effects of recreational marijuana dispensaries on housing values that are relatively localized: home prices within a 0.36 mile area around a new dispensary fall by 3-4% on average, relative to control areas. We also explore increased crime near dispensaries as a possible mechanism driving depressed home prices. While we find no evidence of a general increase in crime in Seattle, WA, there is a significant increase in nuisance-related crimes in census tracts with marijuana dispensaries relative to other census tracts in Seattle.
Current U.S. State Cannabis Sales Limits Allow Large Doses for Use or Diversion
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, forthcoming
Methods: This cross-sectional study examined how transaction sales limits on recreational cannabis translate to tetrahydrocannabinol doses among U.S. states allowing commercial cannabis sales as of January 1, 2020. Weight-based quantity limits by cannabis type (flower/bud, concentrates, and edibles) were converted into grams of tetrahydrocannabinol content per transaction using known potency values in 2020.
Results: Weight-based sales limits for flower and concentrate vary considerably across states (range=1.0–2.5 oz for flower and 3.5–15.0 g for concentrate), whereas limits for edible cannabis are heterogeneous. A total of 4 states have independent limits for each product category, and 6 states place limits across all products sold in the transaction. Because no states impose limits on the potency of flower or concentrates, the small differences in the weight-based limits translate into large differences in grams of tetrahydrocannabinol allowed to be sold. Assuming a typical dose of 10 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol, current laws allow for sales of up to 560 (Alaska) to 2,283 (Michigan) doses per transaction on the basis of median product potencies.
Association between county level cannabis dispensary counts and opioid related mortality rates in the United States: Panel data study
Greta Hsu & Balázs Kovács
British Medical Journal, January 2021
Setting: 812 counties in the United States in the 23 states that allowed legal forms of cannabis dispensaries to operate by the end of 2017.
Participants: The study used US mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combined with US census data and data from Weedmaps.com on storefront dispensary operations. Data were analyzed at the county level by using panel regression methods.
Results: County level dispensary count (natural logarithm) is negatively related to the log transformed, age adjusted mortality rate associated with all opioid types (β=−0.17, 95% confidence interval −0.23 to −0.11). According to this estimate, an increase from one to two storefront dispensaries in a county is associated with an estimated 17% reduction in all opioid related mortality rates. Dispensary count has a particularly strong negative association with deaths caused by synthetic opioids other than methadone (β=−0.21, 95% confidence interval −0.27 to −0.14), with an estimated 21% reduction in mortality rates associated with an increase from one to two dispensaries. Similar associations were found for medical versus recreational storefront dispensary counts on synthetic (non-methadone) opioid related mortality rates.
The associations of medical marijuana policies with opioid‐related health care utilization
Jayani Jayawardhana & Jose Fernandez
Health Services Research, forthcoming
Data Sources: We utilized quarterly rates of hospital discharge data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's (HCUP) Fast Stats Database from 2005 to 2016 along with state‐level sociodemographic data from US Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics and opioid‐related state health policy data from publicly available sources for the analysis.
Study Design: Analyses were carried out using a difference‐in‐differences regression approach. We estimate heterogeneous effects of medical marijuana policies such as initial policy, presence of active dispensary, and home cultivation on opioid‐related hospitalizations and emergency department visits related to opioids.
Principal Findings: Regression results indicate that type of medical marijuana policy has varying effects on opioid‐related hospitalizations and emergency department visits. States that allow home cultivation of medical marijuana experienced significant positive associations with opioid‐related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, while no effect was observed with medical marijuana dispensaries. Moreover, recreational marijuana policies were positively associated with opioid‐related hospitalizations.
Investigating the Effects of Excise Taxes, Public Usage Restrictions, and Anti-Smoking Ads across Cigarette Brands
Yanwen Wang, Michael Lewis & Vishal Singh
Journal of Marketing, forthcoming
Abstract:
The prevalence of strong brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Budweiser, and Marlboro in “vice” categories has important implications for regulators and consumers. While researchers in multiple disciplines have studied the effectiveness of anti-tobacco counter-marketing strategies, little attention has been given to how brand strength may moderate the efficacy of tactics such as excise taxes, usage restrictions, and educational advertising campaigns. In this research, we use a multiple discrete-continuous model to study the impact of anti-smoking techniques on smokers’ choices of brands and quantities. Our results suggest that while cigarette excise taxes decrease smoking rates, these taxes also result in a shift in market share towards stronger brands. Market leaders may be less affected by tax policies because their market power allows strong brands such as Marlboro to absorb rather than pass through increased taxes. In contrast, smoke-free restrictions cause a shift away from stronger brands. In terms of anti-smoking advertising we find minimal effects on brand choice and consumption. The findings highlight the importance of considering brand asymmetries when designing a policy portfolio cigarette tax hikes, smoke-free restrictions, and anti-smoking advertising campaigns.
Keg Registration Laws, Alcohol Consumption, and Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities Among Adolescents
Bariş Yörük & Linna Xu
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, January 2021, Pages 66–75
Method: The 1993–2013 data from Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (n = 107,480) and Fatality Analysis Reporting System (n = 12,102) and difference-in-differences type models were used to estimate the effect of keg registration laws on different indicators of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related traffic fatalities among underage youth.
Results: Introduction of keg registration laws was associated with a 2.3 percentage point reduction (p < .01) in heavy episodic drinking among minors. The significant effects of these laws were mainly driven by the states with relatively strict keg registration laws. However, these laws did not have a significant impact on alcohol-related traffic fatalities among underage youth. These results were robust under alternative model specifications.