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We're observing a real-world experiment in progress. In recent years, an increasing number of countries and states have legalized marijuana, and we're beginning to understand the true impact.
Predictions have varied greatly. Critics were convinced that marijuana legalization would lead to widespread drug abuse and a surge in crime. Meanwhile, supporters envisioned it ushering in an era of peace and prosperity, where society could resolve its conflicts over a joint.
With enough time passed, we can now draw some pretty clear conclusions about the actual effects—and they're not entirely what one might have anticipated.
10. Car Accidents Rise, But Deaths Decrease
It appears that legalizing marijuana leads to a shift from drunk driving to driving under the influence of marijuana, with some intriguing outcomes.
To begin with, the legalization of marijuana has definitely resulted in more people using it. In Colorado, marijuana consumption among adults has risen by 29 percent since it was legalized. However, many of those reaching for marijuana are choosing it over alcohol, especially before getting behind the wheel.
In Washington state, drunk driving has decreased by nearly 33 percent since 2007. Meanwhile, the incidence of driving under the influence of marijuana has increased by about 50 percent—but interpreting these figures is tricky, as marijuana remains detectable in the bloodstream for weeks after its effects have faded.
What seems to be occurring, however, are extremely cautious, slow-moving car accidents. Statistically, car accidents have risen in areas where marijuana is legal, while fatalities from those accidents have decreased. Though the exact explanation remains unclear, it's hard not to attribute this trend to many stoned drivers slowly colliding with each other.
9. Police Are Solving More Crimes
Marijuana supporters were correct: legalizing marijuana truly allows police to focus on actual crimes.
In Washington state, marijuana possession charges plummeted by an astonishing 98 percent in the first year of legal marijuana. This is significant because, between 2000 and 2010, before legalization, the state spent $200 million enforcing marijuana laws—effectively freeing up $196 million in police resources when marijuana was legalized.
Indeed, this has led to improved policing. Both Colorado and Washington have experienced faster crime resolution rates overall since marijuana became legal.
It’s also beneficial for citizens. One surprising outcome of marijuana legalization is that police are no longer searching cars as frequently, as they can no longer use the excuse of “your car smells like weed” to conduct a search. A Washington cop shared, “Probably 90 percent of my felony arrests started with the smell of marijuana.” Since legalization, he has let those arrests go, which, theoretically, should help reduce racial profiling.
8. More Children Are Being Hospitalized for Eating Pot Brownies
When marijuana was legalized, hospitals quickly began noticing an alarming rise in kids showing up at emergency rooms, completely high from consuming marijuana-infused brownies. It became an epidemic—in just one year, Colorado saw 87 children under nine treated for cannabis ingestion, marking a 450 percent increase since legalization.
And that’s actually a positive outcome!
No, we’re not on some mission to encourage getting kids high—we simply think there might be a different way to interpret these numbers.
A lot of these incidents happen when a child sneaks into a parent's edibles and starts eating a pot brownie, unaware that it contains more than just sugar. While it’s possible that legalized marijuana is making these cases more frequent, it's much more likely that parents feel less hesitant about taking their children to the hospital now that marijuana is legal.
In the past, parents could face child endangerment charges or even lose custody of their children just because their child ate a THC-infused cookie from the forbidden cookie jar. The most reasonable explanation for the increase in children going to the hospital now is that parents are no longer as afraid. Before, they probably would have tried to handle it themselves, hoping it would resolve on its own.
One thing we can be certain of is that the use of marijuana among minors doesn’t rise in areas where it’s legalized. In fact, in Washington state and Colorado, there’s been a decline in teenage marijuana consumption.
7. The Issue of Rising Homelessness
When marijuana was legalized in Colorado, residents began voicing concerns about the influx of new neighbors. As one local described, their homes had 'suddenly turned into a refuge for casual pot smokers, attracting transients, beggars, and a significant number of homeless drug users.'
There has been some debate about whether this claim holds any truth. Snopes.com has largely dismissed it as false, reporting that Colorado’s homeless population dropped by almost half from 2012 to 2013 after marijuana was legalized, possibly due to an unexplainable mass exodus of the homeless.
However, if we question Snopes' conclusion, they’ve missed an important detail. In 2013, Colorado altered how it tallies its homeless population, and the state attributes the substantial decrease in numbers to the new counting method. It wasn’t a massive exodus—the previous numbers were simply inaccurate.
Aside from that odd anomaly, which isn’t really connected to legal marijuana, homelessness has consistently risen in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska after marijuana legalization—indicating that, yes, the locals are correct. Pot-loving transients do indeed flock to places where they can legally indulge.
6. Tourists Visit Primarily for Marijuana
In 2015, Colorado generated an impressive $2.6 billion from tourism. Visitors began flocking to the state in record numbers.
Colorado attributes this surge to a stellar tourism campaign, but the facts suggest otherwise. That year, a survey of Colorado tourists revealed that 49 percent of them came primarily for marijuana.
Interestingly, most of them chickened out and didn’t actually buy any: Only eight percent of tourists visited a marijuana dispensary. Nevertheless, nearly half of them admitted that legalized cannabis was at least one factor in their decision to spend their vacation high in the mountains.
In Amsterdam, where they’re more upfront about these matters, the tourism board reports that 1.5 million tourists visit each year solely because of legalized cannabis—quite a significant amount of money flowing into the economy.
5. Tourists End Up in the Hospital After Smoking Too Much
Tourists who partake often have a tendency to overdo it. Since Colorado legalized marijuana, their hospitals have seen a surge in out-of-state visitors arriving at the ER, often so high that they’ve freaked themselves out.
It happens more frequently than you might expect. In 2014, 1.68 percent of out-of-state hospital patients in Colorado admitted to doctors that marijuana was the reason for their visit. They had smoked too much, either injuring themselves or falling into severe anxiety attacks, ultimately calling on their friends to seek medical help.
What’s curious is that locals aren’t experiencing the same issues. There has been no increase in marijuana-related ER visits from in-state patients. It’s primarily the tourists who binge-smoke themselves into the ER, seemingly under the belief that if they’re going to legally get high, they must push the limits further than anyone ever has.
4. Dogs Getting High Too
It’s not just humans who are getting high. When marijuana is legalized, dogs can get a bit stoned as well.
According to Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital, cases of marijuana poisoning in dogs in Colorado have increased fourfold since pot became legal. One veterinarian reports treating an average of five dogs every week who are completely out of it from marijuana.
It’s not that people are intentionally giving their dogs joints—though, that’s not always the case. Typically, dogs get into their owners' edibles and munch on them. The result? They end up tired, wobbling around, and highly sensitive to light. In extreme cases, they’ll even vomit and pass out.
The good news is that the dogs generally recover within 24 hours, but there have been instances where dogs have died after consuming edibles. However, it’s likely the chocolate in the brownie, not the marijuana, that caused the fatalities, as chocolate is far more toxic to dogs than cannabis.
3. Public Schools Improve
In 2015, Colorado gained an additional $135 million in tax revenue from cannabis alone.
That's a substantial amount of money—and the majority has been directed toward supporting Colorado’s schools. When marijuana was legalized, Colorado decided that most of the newly generated funds would go to schools, and they’ve upheld that decision. During the 2015–2016 school year, marijuana tax revenue contributed $80 million to school construction projects. In 2017, schools in Deer Trail, Colorado, received $34 million to construct a new campus, explicitly attributing the funds to marijuana taxes, meaning that the students there got a new facility thanks to marijuana.
A Harvard researcher states that if the entire United States legalized marijuana (and other drugs), taxed and regulated their sale, it could generate an additional $106.7 billion annually. This estimate is based on the theory that the country would earn $58.8 billion in taxes while saving $47.9 billion currently spent on drug prohibition each year.
That would provide enough funds to make every college in the U.S. tuition-free—and still have money left to allocate elsewhere.
2. Crime Rates Decline Dramatically
Reefer madness has not taken hold in any region where marijuana has been legalized. In Washington state, crime rates are at their lowest in 40 years, while Colorado has experienced a 2.4% drop in violent crime since legalizing marijuana.
However, this is nothing compared to the states farther south. In areas bordering Mexico, where marijuana trafficking is typically dominated by drug cartels, crime rates have dropped significantly in states that have legalized marijuana. In California, the legalization of medical marijuana alone resulted in a 15% decrease in violent crime, a 19% drop in robberies, and a 10% reduction in murders.
And yes, the reason for this is the cartel's diminished presence. Drug-related homicides in California decreased by 41%, nearly halving since medical marijuana was legalized.
It appears that marijuana doesn't turn people into criminals. If anything, the legalization of weed is financially hurting drug cartels—and may even lead to their downfall.
1. Decline in Opioid Use
Regardless of your stance on marijuana, it's difficult to argue that it’s as harmful as opioids. Opioids are lethal—claiming the lives of 42,000 Americans each year.
On the other hand, legalizing marijuana appears to be an effective strategy in reducing these statistics. A study revealed that when medical marijuana is legalized, opioid prescriptions decrease by an average of 14 percent.
Part of this is due to providing an alternative. When marijuana is prohibited, patients have limited options for pain relief, often resorting to opioids, which are both highly addictive and hazardous. Another factor is the cost—marijuana is significantly more affordable. On average, it’s about 60 percent cheaper than opioids like hydrocodone.
And indeed, lives are saved. The legalization of medical marijuana has led to a 25 percent reduction in opioid overdose deaths on average.
