Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry , found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases.
Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in‐state enrollment.
The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as a positive factor that influences their college choice.
"Future research should focus on how this policy impacts peer dynamics and the selection of academic disciplines, with a special emphasis on differentiating between STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] and non-STEM fields," said the study’s author Ahmed El Fatmaoui, MBA, a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma.
More information: From High School to Higher Education: Is recreational marijuana a consumption amenity for US college students?, Economic Inquiry (2024). DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13225
Provided by Wiley
Research examines how recreational marijuana legalization affects a state’s college enrollment
