Opponents of cannabis legalization have for years challenged the idea of marijuana progress under the explicit warning that opening pot shops and ending unfair arrests would have a horrific effect on the children, who would not doubt be given THC-laced Halloween candy and pre-rolls at the Sadie Hawkins dance. Time and time again, though, fear-mongering ideas of reefer madness have been proven wrong, with the latest rebuke coming from Washington State.
According to the Seattle Times, a preliminary cost-benefit analysis of Washington’s post-legalization habits, required in the writing of the state’s legalization framework, Initiative 502, was released by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) this week. And while the study gave no concrete assurances, it does reiterate the same conclusion that most other researchers tasked with the same question have indicated – kids aren’t smoking more pot in legal weed states.
“In my overall appraisal, there’s not much evidence I-502 has caused changes in the outcomes we looked at,” said Adam Darnell, the lead researcher and author of the WSIPP report.
The researchers used data from the state’s 2016…