As it remains in toss-up mode whether or not New Jersey will go ahead anytime soon with the legalization of recreational marijuana, in-depth research led by a Stockton University faculty member finds little to no effect on crime in the two states that were the first to do so.
The study, which researchers said uses more rigorous methods of data collecting than previous studies, recorded changes in violent and property crime rates in Colorado and Washington, and compared them to changes in the many states where there are no laws on the books for recreational or broad medical marijuana use.
"There was minimal to no long-term changes in violent and property crime rates in Colorado and Washington," said Ruibin Lu, assistant professor of criminal justice at Stockton and first author on the paper.