Gesetze zu Freizeit-Cannabis können illegale Cannabismärkte verdrängen: US-Bundesstaaten, die zusätzlich zu den Gesetzen zu medizinischem Cannabis auch Gesetze zu Freizeit-Cannabis einführten, verzeichneten im Vergleich zu Staaten, in denen es nur Gesetze zu medizinischem Cannabis gab, einen relativen Rückgang der durchschnittlichen Beschlagnahmungszahlen von Cannabis um 45 %.
https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/recreational-cannabis-laws-may-displace-illegal-cannabis-markets
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Recreational Cannabis Laws May Displace Illegal Cannabis Markets
Adopting recreational cannabis laws, beyond only medical cannabis laws, may help reduce the size of the illegal cannabis market in U.S. states, reports a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The study is among the first to comprehensively examine illegal cannabis market dynamics using law enforcement seizure data. The findings are published in the International Journal of Drug Policy(link is external and opens in a new window).
As of 2025, 40 U.S. states and Washington, DC have legalized medical cannabis, while 24 states and DC have legalized recreational cannabis, though cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under federal law.
Using data from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (HIDTA), the team analyzed cannabis seizures made by participating law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and Washington, DC between 2010 and 2023. This is the first study to use HIDTA data to examine the effects of cannabis legalization on cannabis seizures.
The data included 286,844 cannabis seizures across 686 state-year observations. Researchers linked these data with cannabis policy information from the RAND-USC Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center.
Results showed that states adopting recreational cannabis laws in addition to medical cannabis laws experienced a 45 percent relative reduction in average cannabis seizure counts, compared with states that had only medical cannabis laws. The decline appeared both immediately after recreational cannabis law adoption and one year later, even after controlling for state demographic and law enforcement factors and time trends.
For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395926000691
That has been one of the main selling pints for legal marijuana. Displace the illicit drugs market.
It’s the main argument for all legalization claims and it’s not nonsense. A lot of people would much rather be able to walk in to a clean and legal store to buy their drugs than deal with the illicit market and it’s quality control issues and shady operations.
Then you can regulate the product and quality, you can tax the sales… Government gets revenue and clips the balls off the drug cartels.
If people are going to consume these drugs too, threat them like alcohol, which is just another drug really. Prohibition has failed for a long time
Unfortunately all the studies in the world have trouble getting through to politicians who have their own reasons to resist any positive change here.
It’s logical and you can look at alcohol use and availability to prove it. Much easier to get illegal drugs when you are underage than alcohol.