While recreational cannabis laws have significantly reduced arrests for cannabis possession and sales, racial disparities in arrests still exist, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and the University of Texas at Austin.
The authors suggest that recreational cannabis laws do not fully resolve underlying systemic inequities.
The findings, published May 1 in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, provide the most comprehensive national analysis to date of how cannabis legalization impacts racial disparities in arrests and incarcerations. The research was led by Angélica Meinhofer, assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell.
Currently, recreational cannabis is legal in 24 states and Washington, D.C., while marijuana use only for medical purposes is permitted in 40 states. As more states consider legalization, this study offers guidance for policymakers seeking not only to legalize but also to rectify the harms of past cannabis enforcement practices.
Data from 11 states over a 13-year period revealed that arrests for cannabis possession dropped by 62% for white individuals and 51% for Black individuals. Similarly, cannabis sales arrests declined by 44% and 49% for white and Black populations, respectively. These reductions mark a notable shift in how drug offenses are policed and prosecuted in states that have legalized cannabis.
Before legalization, Black people were far more likely than white people to be arrested for cannabis-related offenses, and that is still the case. Legalization reduced the overall volume of arrests, but it did not change the relative differences in arrests between racial groups.
Beyond cannabis-specific offenses, the study also found spillover effects such as the decline in arrests for selling other illegal drugs – 22% lower for white people and 17% lower for Black people – suggesting a shift in law enforcement practices or illicit drug markets. Yet, prison admissions for drug offenses only decreased among white individuals, falling by 34%, while remaining unchanged for Black individuals.
Though some worried that legalization might increase violent or property crime, the study found no significant changes in arrests for serious crimes like assault, robbery or burglary. Actually, homicide rates among Black individuals appeared to decline, driven primarily by a reduction in gun-related deaths.
The study also highlights public health challenges that have accompanied legalization – hospitalizations related to cannabis use disorder and poisoning increased for both racial groups. Additionally, hospitalizations for other drug use rose for Black individuals.
The authors stress that broader reforms, such as record expungement, changes to law enforcement incentives and targeted investments in communities harmed by prohibition, are necessary to achieve lasting justice.
This work was funded by the Russell Sage Foundation. Meinhofer acknowledges support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Nadia Halim is science editor at Weill Cornell Medicine.