The global shift on cannabis is undeniable. Countries around the world are changing their stance on the use of cannabis, whether it’s a fully legal market that caters for all adults, or medical use only. For over 20 years, campaigners and activists have fought hard to make cannabis access easier, and in many places have won.
Sadly, the usual suspects still wheel out tired stereotypes: teen usage will skyrocket, roads will become death traps, society’s health will crumble. But with over two decades of real-world data to study, research shows that in legal countries, these fears have not been realised. Instead, the evidence keeps mounting that legalisation doesn’t just help cannabis consumers – it makes life better for everyone.
A brief history of global cannabis reform
It started with Uruguay in 2013 – the South American nation that defied international drug law to legalise cannabis. Colorado followed suit that same year, and suddenly the dominoes began falling. Canada went fully legal in 2018, Mexico in 2021. Europe caught on too: Malta, Germany, and Luxembourg have established legal frameworks, while the Netherlands has finally started fixing its absurd “back door” system. Portugal has proven that the decriminalisation of all drugs, including cannabis, doesn’t lead to societal collapse.
Even Asia has got in on the reform action. Thailand shocked everyone by legalising cannabis in 2023, though the situation remains unstable. Meanwhile, medical programmes have sprouted up across the world from countless states in the US to the UK, often seen as the first stepping stone towards broader reform.
How cannabis legalisation benefits wider society
Researchers across the world now have access to over 20 years of public health data to study the broader implications of cannabis reform. It is estimated that over 500 million people live in places where they can legally access cannabis for non-medical adult use. As a result, it is becoming clearer to understand the impact of cannabis reform on public health and society, and the evidence shows there are significant benefits to changing the law.
1. Legalising cannabis leads to lower teen consumption
In December 2024, the US Government published figures taken from the Monitoring the Future Survey. Data showed that teen cannabis use in America was at its lowest since 2012, when the first states began to make legal sales.
“Sensational claims that adult-use legalization laws are linked with greater marijuana use by teens are simply not backed by reliable data,” said Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, a social welfare charity that campaigns for cannabis law reform in the United States.
It’s not just America seeing this pattern. This study, published by Swedish researchers in 2022, showed how teen and adult use actually decreased after legalisation.
“Researchers found that, on average, cannabis use was stable or only increasing weakly in countries where legislation had not changed (or if legislation was changed at the extremes of the study period). In contrast, the average use decreased after changes in legislation, regardless of the change being categorised as less-lenient or more-lenient”, the Swedish study authors wrote.
2. Easier access to cannabis leads to fewer opioid overdose deaths
Americans have been living through an opioid addiction and overdose epidemic, largely fueled by overprescription and pharmaceutical companies such as the Sackler family’s Purdue Pharma. These companies are accused of aggressively marketing drugs such as the opioid OxyContin to doctors across America despite being warned of its addictive nature and its high potential for harm.
Researchers found overdose deaths decreased by 3.5 per 100,000 in states that had legalised cannabis
The consequences were catastrophic. Unprecedented levels of addiction to prescribed and illegally obtained opioids, and subsequently huge numbers of deaths. In 1999, there were thought to be around 10,000 overdose fatalities from opioids in the USA, rising, at its peak, to an estimated 110,000 in 2023. Overdose deaths from opioids fell 27% in 2024, and models estimate they will continue to do so as access to overdose-reversal drugs like Narcan and addiction treatment facilities is expanded.
Cannabis has also played a part. In a study titled “Because I got High?”, researchers found overdose deaths decreased by 3.5 per 100,000 in states that had legalised adult use when compared to those that hadn’t. They stated, “Our findings suggest that broadening recreational marijuana access could help address the opioid epidemic.”
3. Legalisation improves the quality and safety of cannabis
Before Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise cannabis, the quality of the products available on the black market was dire. Most cannabis came in from other South American and Central American countries in bricks, often called Paraguayan packs. Things rapidly changed after legal sales began in July 2017.
Simon Tschernij, a world Ju Jitsu champion from Montevideo, told leafie, “Yes, before there was no bud culture, the normal stuff was bricks, they were called Paraguayan because it usually came from Paraguay.”
He added, “Today, we have the same level of quality as California”.
The Netherlands has spent fifty years operating a ‘back-door’ system where coffeeshops could legally sell cannabis but had to buy it illegally from illicit growers and smuggle it into their premises through the back door, hence the name. After half a century, authorities decided this absurd system had to change. Despite fierce opposition, politicians introduced a legal cannabis pilot scheme that started in 2023 and will run until 2027. The scheme, named wietexperiment, involves granting ten licenses to cultivators to be able to supply coffeeshops across ten cities. So far, the pilot appears to be going well.
“It’s been a year now since the weed experiment started. I think it’s successful. Clean weed with no weird aftertastes is really important to me, personally. I also think the price is really good; I don’t need some strawberry smoothie or whatever nonsense. Just pure, unadulterated weed,” reports one cannabis consumer.
“I also find the high lovely; it feels more like weed did 30 years ago, much more natural and just nice. I live in Helmond and now I make a trip to Tilburg once a month and come back with 30 grams; I don’t want that crap from here anymore.”
Another win for consumers is that professionally produced and properly regulated cannabis tends to be safer – it’s held to the same standards as your food. Licensed producers jump through countless regulatory hoops: strict growing protocols, proper curing, storage standards, safety checks, the works.
Mould and other microorganisms can grow on any organic matter. To combat this issue, many markets, both medical and recreational, set strict limits for mould and yeast levels in finished products. To hit strict standards, producers often irradiate their goods before selling them on to kill off unwanted organisms in the plant material. The irradiation debate splits the community. Old-school smokers swear it ruins the smell, taste, and potency. Proponents say that lightly treating cannabis, in the same way nearly all of our food is treated, keeps the end user safer and keeps the cost of the product down because less of it spoils.
In most cases, it is simply not possible for producers and sellers who operate outside of the realm of the law to match the safety and production standards followed by the often large companies that do things legally, leading to better quality and higher safety standards all around.
4. Cannabis legalisation increases tax revenue
In the USA, since sales started in 2014, legal cannabis has generated $24.7bn in tax revenue. California alone has pocketed $6.72bn, with other states including Washington, Colorado and Illinois close behind.
In Albuquerque, a scheme devised to help vulnerable members of the community will support 100 low-income families with a Universal Basic Income of $750 per month. This will be funded entirely from tax revenue from the sales of cannabis.
In the USA, since sales started in 2014, legal cannabis has generated $24.7bn in tax revenue
Transform Drug Policy Foundation compiled a report in which it said the potential tax revenue for the UK Exchequer could be up to £1.5bn annually, as well as saving the UK taxpayer £284 million in criminal justice costs.
“For Transform, the economic arguments for the legal regulation of non-medical adult-use cannabis, though significant, are secondary to public health and social justice policy priorities,” the report states. However, it acknowledges that “economic dimensions of the cannabis reform debate are undoubtedly gaining political salience, particularly as governments face growing budgetary pressures.”
5. Cannabis legalisation reduces crime
The problem with criminalising something popular is that it will, inevitably, lead to criminality. For over a century of prohibition, cannabis laws have become a gift to criminals seeking profit from the cultivation, importation, and sale of the plant. It makes criminals out of patients who need weed, and presents a risk to otherwise abide by the law but just want to get high.
Whereas I hold no qualms against people who quietly grow or sell a bit of weed to make a few quid, those that do so without causing harm to others, I do acknowledge the need for a legal, regulated market. Unregulated cannabis has resulted in many instances of violence and robbery, and it has strong links to organised crime groups.
Taking weed out of the hands of criminals has made appreciable differences, such as in Atlanta, Georgia, which saw a 20% reduction in violent crime in the years following 2017 when they legalised adult use sales. As much as we smokers would like to think that this is due to everybody being stoned, it was actually due to police focusing their efforts on actual crimes, instead of chasing stoners around importunately.
In California, which in 1996 became the first state in the US to legalise medical sales, more than one in three people are thought to consume cannabis every month, and over three-quarters of those claimed to buy their cannabis products from licensed dispensaries. In Canada, the figure is even higher; 97% of cannabis sales are thought to be made legally.
Legal sales generate tax revenue for the state and government, and keep money and power out of the hands of violent gangs.
6. Safe access to cannabis improves public health outcomes
In the UK, if you want to legally alter your consciousness, alcohol is your only option. Drinking is fine for some, and millions around the world enjoy it regularly and safely. However, many people eschew alcohol because it can be the cause of many health and social issues, such as liver disease and antisocial behaviour; others simply don’t like the taste or effects, or avoid it for cultural reason. Giving people alternative options to alter their state of mind, ones that are healthier and cause less harm to society than alcohol, can help keep people and communities healthier and safer.
A common concern shared by prohibitionists is that cannabis causes mental health problems, and that legalisation would exacerbate the issue. However, data from the US shows a 37% decrease in admissions to mental health facilities in the years following adult use sales. Another study from the US found that patients, “who used cannabis to treat a range of medical problems including anxiety, had largely improved cognitive performance, reduced clinical symptoms and anxiety-related symptoms as well as reduced use of conventional medications, including opioids, benzodiazepines, and other mood stabilizers and antidepressants.”
Another commonly held myth about stoners is that they are lazy, but again, the data says otherwise. A study from the US reported an increase in physical activity of 27% in people who used cannabis when compared to those who didn’t, but in states where cannabis had been legalised, the figure rose to 47%.
7. Fewer people use alcohol and tobacco when cannabis is legalised
An American study found that cannabis legalisation led to a decrease in the use of alcohol, tobacco products, and pain medication by those aged 21-25. The study said, “Contrary to concerns about spillover effects, implementation of legalised nonmedical cannabis coincided with decreases in alcohol and cigarette use and pain reliever misuse. The weakening association of cannabis use with the use of other substances among individuals ages 21–25 requires further research but may suggest increased importance of cannabis-specific prevention and treatment efforts.”
In Canada, beer sales (but not sales of spirits and other alcoholic drinks) were observed by researchers to fall in the years following legalisation by about 3.5%.
Conclusion
There’s danger in all aspects of our lives, and it is impossible to make any one thing truly safe. However, it is possible to use common sense, regulation, and laws to guide businesses and the public in safe ways to operate and enjoy an adult-use cannabis market.
As this article has demonstrated, the evidence is overwhelming: cannabis legalisation makes the world better for everyone. Fewer people in the clutches of criminal gangs. Better access to medicine that actually works. Less dependence on dangerous opioids. Quality cannabis without fear of persecution.
Two decades of data don’t lie. The question isn’t whether legalisation works – it’s why more places haven’t caught on yet. But judging by the momentum, that’s changing fast. Long may it continue.
