Abstract

We evaluate the effects of cannabis legalization on crime and law enforcement in one of the first states to adopt it, in 2012. We investigated how the police view legalization and how they experienced its implementation. Appreciative Inquiry was employed in 9 focus group interviews of 48 officers from multiple agencies in Washington. Our findings indicate that officers in Washington, though not supportive of re-criminalization, expressed concerns about: youth access and use; increases in drugged driving; prosecutorial reluctance to charge; nuisance calls about cannabis usage in public; the lack of police preparation for legalization, and; legalization’s effect on their workload. Because of the recent nature of legalization, there is little research on how those charged with its implementation (the police) feel about it. Their concerns might inform policy of other states that have undertaken the responsibility of legalizing cannabis about real and perceived pitfalls they might encounter.

摘要

2012年，我们在最早采用大麻的州之一中评估了大麻合法化对犯罪和执法的影响。我们调查了警察如何看待合法化以及他们如何体验到合法化。对华盛顿多个机构的48名官员进行了9次焦点小组访谈，进行了欣赏性询问。我们的调查结果表明，华盛顿的官员尽管不支持再犯罪化，但对以下问题表示关注：青年人的获取和利用；毒品驾驶增加；检察官不愿起诉；讨厌在公共场所使用大麻的呼吁；警察没有为合法化做准备；以及 合法化对其工作量的影响。由于合法化的最新性质，很少有人研究负责实施合法化的人（警察）对此的看法。