When penalties for marijuana possession are lifted, usage rates increase—but that’s not the case when retail sales of cannabis are permitted. That’s according to researchers at Colorado Mesa University who analyzed survey data from more than 1,400 people over the course of 17 months in Colorado, Washington and Australia. The researchers determined that “the social and legal implications of legalizing recreational marijuana are stronger than accessibility and price, even before it is sold to the public through legal means.”
