An Evolution Rather than a Revolution: Cannabis Legalization Implementation from the Perspective of the Police in Washington State

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.