There has been quite the groundswell in recent years in the efforts to legalize marijuana. In fact, a majority of US states have at least some sort of access to legal weed, despite its still being criminalized at the federal level. But the state of Colorado led the nation when it legalized marijuana for all purposes, even recreational ones, in January of 2014. The anti-marijuana advocates warned that such an action would lead to increased drug use — especially among teens — higher crimes rates, and a whole spate of other undesirable consequences. Nevertheless, the plant prevailed. It's still early days, but we do have almost four years of data about the effects of legalizing marijuana to look at. Were the anti-marijuana crusaders correct? Are teen drug use and violent crime rampant? Are visitors shunning Colorado? Was it all a huge mistake? Antony Davies and James Harrigan discuss this and more on this week's episode of Words and Numbers.

Quick Hits Unemployment rate is at its lowest level?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2017/12/08/why-you-cant-rely-on-the-unemployment-rate-as-primary-economic-indicator/

 

Sweet Briar college no longer discounting tuition

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/beloved-womens-college-slashes-tuition-prices-30/

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/college-costs/college-costs-faqs

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/05/16/discount-rates-rise-yet-again-private-colleges-and-universities

 

Venezuela’s diaspora is growing: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/14/flood-venezuelans-fleeing-their-depressed-country/941463001/

US better educated now than at any time in its history: http://triblive.com/news/education/classroom/13077368-74/us-more-educated-than-ever-before-census-bureau-says

Foolishness of the week Bulletproof glass is an indignity

http://reason.com/blog/2017/12/15/philly-votes-to-regulate-bulletproof-gla

Marijuana and Crime 

Adolescent pot use is falling in Colorado

http://reason.com/blog/2017/12/12/contradicting-prohibitionists-survey-say/amp?__twitter_impression=true

The war on marijuana has failed

http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/11974018-74/marijuana-colorado-drug

Colorado’s pot full of benefits

http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/6487136-74/marijuana-state-war

Commercial pot in Colorado

http://gazette.com/editorial-the-sad-anniversary-of-big-commercial-pot-in-colorado/article/1614900

Milton Friedman on drug criminalization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLsCC0LZxkY

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on marijuana policy http://www.newsweek.com/will-jeff-sessions-war-marijuana-next-week-744089

Teen marijuana use is down since legalization https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/11/following-marijuana-legalization-teen-drug-use-is-down-in-colorado

Data

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cbi/colorado-crime-statistics-ucr

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cbi/crime-colorado1

http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/colorado-population/

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/table-1

https://www.denverite.com/chronic-homelessness-ten-year-high-metro-denver-heres-citys-38546/

 

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/PW_ISVP_PDO_Heroin-in-Colorado-2017.pdf