According to a new study the “presence of a [marijuana] dispensary has no significant impact on local crime in the average neighborhood.”
The study was published in the recent issue of the journal Annals of Regional Science, and it was conducted by researchers at John Hopkins University and the University of Hawaii.
“Many North American jurisdictions have legalized the operation of recreational marijuana dispensaries”, states the study. “A common concern is that dispensaries may contribute to local crime. Identifying the effect of dispensaries on crime is confounded by the spatial endogeneity of dispensary locations.”
Researchers say that “Washington State allocated dispensary licenses through a lottery, providing a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of dispensaries on neighborhood-level crime.”
Combining lottery data with detailed geocoded crime data, researchers “estimate that the presence of a dispensary has no significant impact on local crime in the average neighborhood.” Researchers did “estimate a small rise in property crime in low-income neighborhoods specifically.”
The study’s full abstract can be found below:
Abstract
Many North American jurisdictions have legalized the operation of recreational marijuana dispensaries. A common concern is that dispensaries may contribute to local crime. Identifying the effect of dispensaries on crime is confounded by the spatial endogeneity of dispensary locations. Washington State allocated dispensary licenses through a lottery, providing a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of dispensaries on neighborhood-level crime. Combining lottery data with detailed geocoded crime data, we estimate that the presence of a dispensary has no significant impact on local crime in the average neighborhood. We estimate a small rise in property crime in low-income neighborhoods specifically.
