Izlaganje sa skupa
AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT CANNABIS DECRIMINALIZATION SCENARIOS
Marysia Ogrodnik
; Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I), Ecole d'Economie de Paris, Cedex Paris 13, France
Pierre Kopp
; Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I), Ecole d'Economie de Paris, Cedex Paris 13, France
Xavier Bongaerts
; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgi
Juan M. Tecco
; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgi
Sažetak
Background: Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in European countries. In countries with repressive cannabis
policies, prevalence is not lower than in those with tolerant laws. Repressive policies not only have uncertain benefits but they are
also expensive. Economists tend to believe that good public policies minimize social costs; that is, they help to improve collective
wellbeing at a lower cost.
Method: The paper draws on a review of international literature on cannabis legislative models around the world. After a
description of some of the fundamental concepts of a market economy, several existing policy scenarios will be presented and
analyzed from an economic perspective. Strength and weaknesses will be summarized for each alternative.
Results: In addition to consumption tolerance in countries such as the Netherlands, recent decriminalization of domestic markets
in the Unites States and Uruguay present alternatives to reduce the negative impact of cannabis on society. Earlier initiation age and
rise in consumption are unintended potential consequences of decriminalization that need to be addressed by public authorities when
designing a liberalized cannabis policy environment. Price is a key variable that needs to be addressed to prevent a rise in
consumption.
Conclusion: Repressive cannabis policies are expensive and have limited impact on consumption. Consumption legalization
significantly reduces expenses for repression and law enforcement, allowing for the allocation of more resources to other targets
such as education and prevention. With legalization of supply along with consumption, repression and law enforcement costs are
reduced even further. Moreover, a legal market would create employment and generate tax revenues that could be allocated to the
prevention of increased consumption. Legalizing cannabis would not lead to a sudden rise in consumption, providing the duty
imposed by the state kept the product at its current price.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
264556
URI
Datum izdavanja:
8.9.2015.
Posjeta: 2.056 *