Public opinion on the expenditure of adult-use cannabis tax revenue: Evidence from New Jersey

Nathan W. Link; Jordan M. Hyatt; Kathleen Powell

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104334

Public opinion on the expenditure of adult-use cannabis tax revenue: Evidence from New Jersey

Nathan W. Link, Jordan M. Hyatt, Kathleen Powell

Rutgers Camden, Sociology

Rutgers, The State University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Objectives: To describe New Jersey residents’ relative priorities for the allocation of tax revenue generated by recreational cannabis sales. We aim to assess preferences for public health initiatives, including drug treatment, compared to a range of alternatives, including traditional policing, especially within the social and demographic groupings of people generally most impacted by punitive drug enforcement policies. Methods: We collected population-representative survey data four months post-implementation of recreational cannabis sales in New Jersey (N = 1,006). We gauge respondents’ top preferences for the allocation of new revenue generated by the legal cannabis market. Using multinomial logistic regression, we assess how various demographic and political factors shape public support for devoting revenue toward public health initiatives. Results: While priorities are mixed within the sample, we find more general support for funding community-based initiatives in public health, housing, and education than for funding police, courts, and prisons. Among Black residents, the largest proportion chose investments in affordable housing. Regression analysis reveals political orientation as having the most consistent association with expressed preferences, with Republicans favoring investments in traditional law enforcement priorities over other potential funding domains. Conclusions: Recreational cannabis legalization is occurring at a rapid pace, yet important context, including how the tax revenue could be invested in communities, remains unclear. Insight into current public opinion on funding priorities suggests a desire for investment in fundamental societal institutions, including education and public health, rather than the punitive enforcement mechanisms that have defined cannabis policy for many decades.

Original language	American English
Article number	104334
Journal	International Journal of Drug Policy
Volume	125
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104334
State	Published - Mar 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Health Policy

Keywords

Cannabis legalization
Cannabis revenue
Decriminalization
Drug enforcement
War on drugs
marijuana
tax

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10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104334

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title = "Public opinion on the expenditure of adult-use cannabis tax revenue: Evidence from New Jersey",

abstract = "Objectives: To describe New Jersey residents{\textquoteright} relative priorities for the allocation of tax revenue generated by recreational cannabis sales. We aim to assess preferences for public health initiatives, including drug treatment, compared to a range of alternatives, including traditional policing, especially within the social and demographic groupings of people generally most impacted by punitive drug enforcement policies. Methods: We collected population-representative survey data four months post-implementation of recreational cannabis sales in New Jersey (N = 1,006). We gauge respondents{\textquoteright} top preferences for the allocation of new revenue generated by the legal cannabis market. Using multinomial logistic regression, we assess how various demographic and political factors shape public support for devoting revenue toward public health initiatives. Results: While priorities are mixed within the sample, we find more general support for funding community-based initiatives in public health, housing, and education than for funding police, courts, and prisons. Among Black residents, the largest proportion chose investments in affordable housing. Regression analysis reveals political orientation as having the most consistent association with expressed preferences, with Republicans favoring investments in traditional law enforcement priorities over other potential funding domains. Conclusions: Recreational cannabis legalization is occurring at a rapid pace, yet important context, including how the tax revenue could be invested in communities, remains unclear. Insight into current public opinion on funding priorities suggests a desire for investment in fundamental societal institutions, including education and public health, rather than the punitive enforcement mechanisms that have defined cannabis policy for many decades.",

keywords = "Cannabis legalization, Cannabis revenue, Decriminalization, Drug enforcement, War on drugs, marijuana, tax",

author = "Link, {Nathan W.} and Hyatt, {Jordan M.} and Kathleen Powell",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2024",

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language = "American English",

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AB - Objectives: To describe New Jersey residents’ relative priorities for the allocation of tax revenue generated by recreational cannabis sales. We aim to assess preferences for public health initiatives, including drug treatment, compared to a range of alternatives, including traditional policing, especially within the social and demographic groupings of people generally most impacted by punitive drug enforcement policies. Methods: We collected population-representative survey data four months post-implementation of recreational cannabis sales in New Jersey (N = 1,006). We gauge respondents’ top preferences for the allocation of new revenue generated by the legal cannabis market. Using multinomial logistic regression, we assess how various demographic and political factors shape public support for devoting revenue toward public health initiatives. Results: While priorities are mixed within the sample, we find more general support for funding community-based initiatives in public health, housing, and education than for funding police, courts, and prisons. Among Black residents, the largest proportion chose investments in affordable housing. Regression analysis reveals political orientation as having the most consistent association with expressed preferences, with Republicans favoring investments in traditional law enforcement priorities over other potential funding domains. Conclusions: Recreational cannabis legalization is occurring at a rapid pace, yet important context, including how the tax revenue could be invested in communities, remains unclear. Insight into current public opinion on funding priorities suggests a desire for investment in fundamental societal institutions, including education and public health, rather than the punitive enforcement mechanisms that have defined cannabis policy for many decades.

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Public opinion on the expenditure of adult-use cannabis tax revenue: Evidence from New Jersey

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

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