Public Health and Safety

Marijuana’s Impacts in Colorado: A Policy Memo

June 2021

Dr. David Murray, a Senior Fellow with the Hudson Institute, a “think tank” based in Washington D.C. released a policy memo titled, “The “Colorado Experiment”: Legalized Marijuana’s Impact in Colorado”. This brief, yet informative read, offers insights into what has been called the “Colorado Experiment” referring to the legalization of marijuana in the state for both medical and commercial adult use.  Dr. Murray looks at issues that were brought up during the campaign as proposed benefits to legalization (e.g. elimination of the “black market”, highway safety, social justice issues and more) and cites data that shows the adverse impact that marijuana is actually having in Colorado. 

Scope note: The reader can access the research cited in this document by looking for key topic words that are highlight in bold font; these have been hyperlinked to the original source. Simply place your cursor over the highlighted word and provide a click of your mouse.

Read Time: 5-10 minutes

Photo: Unsplash.com / “Jeff W.”