TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of recreational cannabis legalization on forest management and conservation efforts in U.S. national forests in the Pacific Northwest
AU - Klassen, Mark
AU - Anthony, Brandon P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/8
Y1 - 2019/8
N2 - Cannabis cultivation in US national forests has been identified as a growing environmental issue. Rational choice theory often considers law enforcement efforts as pushing this illegal activity into remote areas, including public lands, through the process of crime displacement. As such, the legalization of recreational cannabis has been prescribed as a possible solution to this environmental issue. The recent liberalization of marijuana policies across numerous states introduces the opportunity to analyze these claims. Here, utilizing regression analyses, we investigate the effects of recreational cannabis legalization and a host of relevant socio-economic and law enforcement factors in Washington and Oregon on illicit marijuana cultivation in Pacific Northwest national forests. To further investigate the regression results, structured questions were sent to a key informant of the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations division who responded on behalf of the institution. Results demonstrate law enforcement and economic variables as significant in determining illicit cannabis cultivation in Pacific Northwest national forests, confirming the relevance of a rational choice framework. Recreational cannabis legalization is found to significantly contribute to a reduction in illicit cultivation sites in Oregonian national forests, while remaining insignificant in Washington, likely due to policy differences that are discussed.
AB - Cannabis cultivation in US national forests has been identified as a growing environmental issue. Rational choice theory often considers law enforcement efforts as pushing this illegal activity into remote areas, including public lands, through the process of crime displacement. As such, the legalization of recreational cannabis has been prescribed as a possible solution to this environmental issue. The recent liberalization of marijuana policies across numerous states introduces the opportunity to analyze these claims. Here, utilizing regression analyses, we investigate the effects of recreational cannabis legalization and a host of relevant socio-economic and law enforcement factors in Washington and Oregon on illicit marijuana cultivation in Pacific Northwest national forests. To further investigate the regression results, structured questions were sent to a key informant of the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations division who responded on behalf of the institution. Results demonstrate law enforcement and economic variables as significant in determining illicit cannabis cultivation in Pacific Northwest national forests, confirming the relevance of a rational choice framework. Recreational cannabis legalization is found to significantly contribute to a reduction in illicit cultivation sites in Oregonian national forests, while remaining insignificant in Washington, likely due to policy differences that are discussed.
KW - Crime displacement
KW - Illicit cannabis cultivation
KW - Pacific Northwest
KW - Rational choice framework
KW - Recreational cannabis legalization
KW - US national forests
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064889964&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.04.029
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.04.029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064889964
SN - 0921-8009
VL - 162
SP - 39
EP - 48
JO - Ecological Economics
JF - Ecological Economics
ER -