Researchers study effect of marijuana on policing
adrianaThe long-time controversy over marijuana legalization in Washington finally came to an end in 2012 when the state legislature passed Initiative 502. Four years later, WSU researchers are studying how it affected police operations.
WSU criminal justice and criminology professor Mary Stohr will lead a $1 million three-year study beginning January 1, 2017, to research the effects that the legalization has had on law enforcement and policing. The grant, from the National Institute of Justice, will look at policing in the state and how the criminal justice organization adjusted to this policy change.
Stohr said they are curious about how police changed their practices since the legalization and how it affected crime rate statistics.
