NO WE DON'T! Stop saying that! We don't want more homeless people and drug addictions.
Homelessness
Evidence points to increases, particularly in chronic homelessness. The Kansas City Fed paper estimated a 35% rise in the chronic homelessness rate (point estimate just outside conventional statistical significance in some specifications), alongside a 17% rise in substance use disorders and a 13% rise in overall arrests. This aligns with anecdotes from residents and officials in legal states and with some other quasi-experimental work finding higher rates or compounding effects in early-adopting areas.
Raw HUD Point-in-Time data show high absolute and rate levels in several legalization states (California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado frequently rank high). Periods after legalization saw increases in some states (e.g., Colorado and Washington had notable upticks in certain windows post-2012/2014), though trends are not uniform and neighboring non-legal states also saw rises. Causal attribution is contested: contributors include housing cost inflation (partly an amenity effect of legalization boosting demand and prices), migration of some users, increased substance use disorders, mental health issues, and broader factors like the opioid crisis and housing shortages. Some analyses find no strong unique link beyond these, while others note correlations with early retail legalization states. Cannabis arrests have fallen sharply (often 80%+ for possession among adults), but overall crime and arrest patterns are mixed—overall crime rates often show little change, with possible modest property crime increases in some studies and large drops in cannabis-specific enforcement.
Public health: Adult cannabis use rose (self-reported increases around 28% in the Fed analysis). Youth use effects are generally small or mixed, with limited evidence of large increases. Cannabis-related hospitalizations/ED visits have risen in some places; traffic fatality findings are mixed.
Kansans want legal cannabis. Ty Masterson keeps blocking it, sending millions in tax revenue to neighboring states. As governor, I’ll work to legalize cannabis, help Kansans get much-needed relief, and invest those dollars back into our communities.