IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlawec/doi10.1086-701193.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Labor Market Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph J. Sabia
  • Thanh Tam Nguyen

Abstract

This study is the first to estimate the impact of state medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on labor market outcomes. First, using data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, we document that MMLs are associated with an increase in marijuana consumption among younger and older adult males, consistent with increases in use for both recreational and medicinal purposes. Then, using data from the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Groups, we find no evidence that MMLs affect employment, hours, or wages among working-age adults, including among demographic groups whose marijuana consumption is most impacted by MMLs. Medical marijuana laws that provide access to open marijuana dispensaries only moderately depress wages among young men. We conclude that the labor market effects of MMLs are small.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph J. Sabia & Thanh Tam Nguyen, 2018. "The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(3), pages 361-396.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/701193
    DOI: 10.1086/701193
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/701193
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/701193
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/701193?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hamersma, Sarah & Maclean, Johanna Catherine, 2021. "Do expansions in adolescent access to public insurance affect the decisions of substance use disorder treatment providers?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Chakraborty Avinandan & Doremus Jacqueline & Stith Sarah, 2021. "The effects of recreational cannabis access on labor markets: evidence from Colorado," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-86, January.
    3. Sabia, Joseph J. & Dave, Dhaval & Alotaibi, Fawaz & Rees, Daniel I., 2024. "The effects of recreational marijuana laws on drug use and crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    4. Jenny Williams & Jan C. van Ours, 2020. "Hazardous or not? Cannabis use and early labor market experiences of young men," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(10), pages 1148-1160, October.
    5. Jenny Williams & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula & Rosanna Smart, 2019. "De Facto or De Jure? Ethnic Differences in Quit Responses to Legal Protections of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries," NBER Working Papers 25555, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Thanh Lu, 2021. "Marijuana legalization and household spending on food and alcohol," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(7), pages 1684-1696, July.
    7. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Keshar M. Ghimire & Lauren Hersch Nicholas, 2021. "Marijuana legalization and disability claiming," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 453-469, February.
    8. Park, Sujeong & Powell, David, 2021. "Is the rise in illicit opioids affecting labor supply and disability claiming rates?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Keshar M. Ghimire & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2020. "Medical marijuana and workers' compensation claiming," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 419-434, April.
    10. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Chandler McClellan & Michael F. Pesko & Daniel Polsky, 2023. "Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services and behavioral health outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 873-909, April.
    11. Rahi Abouk & Keshar M. Ghimire & Johanna Catherine Maclean & David Powell, 2023. "Pain Management and Work Capacity: Evidence From Workers’ Compensation and Marijuana Legalization," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(3), pages 737-770, June.
    12. Borbely, Daniel & Lenhart, Otto & Norris, Jonathan & Romiti, Agnese, 2022. "Marijuana Legalization and Mental Health," IZA Discussion Papers 15729, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Michael F. Pesko & Charles J. Courtemanche & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2019. "The Effects of Traditional Cigarette and E-Cigarette Taxes on Adult Tobacco Product Use," NBER Working Papers 26017, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Monica Deza & Thanh Lu & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2022. "Office‐based mental healthcare and juvenile arrests," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 69-91, October.
    15. Michael F. Pesko & Charles J. Courtemanche & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2020. "The effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco product use," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 229-258, June.
    16. Petrova, Olga & Gray, Natallia, 2021. "The effects of medical marijuana laws on birth outcomes: Evidence from early adopting U.S. states," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 68-82.
    17. Dave, Dhaval & Liang, Yang & Pesko, Michael F. & Phillips, Serena & Sabia, Joseph J., 2023. "Have recreational marijuana laws undermined public health progress on adult tobacco use?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Bruijn, L. Michelle & Ribas, Rafael P., 2022. "“No drugs in my back yard:” The ambivalent reception of cannabis retailers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 103-121.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/701193. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLE .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.