Top

BMC Public Health

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

Recreational cannabis legalization and immigration enforcement: a state-level analysis of arrests and deportations in the United States, 2009–2020

Authors: Emilie Bruzelius, Silvia S. Martins

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Background

Recreational cannabis laws (RCL) in the United States (US) can have important implications for people who are non-citizens, including those with and without formal documentation, and those who are refugees or seeking asylum. For these groups, committing a cannabis-related infraction, even a misdemeanor, can constitute grounds for status ineligibility, including arrest and deportation under federal immigration policy—regardless of state law. Despite interconnections between immigration and drug policy, the potential impacts of increasing state cannabis legalization on immigration enforcement are unexplored.

Methods

In this repeated cross-sectional analysis, we tested the association between state-level RCL adoption and monthly, state-level prevalence of immigration arrests and deportations related to cannabis possession. Data were from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Immigration arrest information was available from Oct-2014 to May-2018 and immigration deportation information were available from Jan-2009 to Jun-2020 for. To test associations with RCLs, we fit Poisson fixed effects models that controlled for pre-existing differences between states, secular trends, and potential sociodemographic, sociopolitical, and setting-related confounders. Sensitivity analyses explored potential violations to assumptions and sensitivity to modeling specifications.

Results

Over the observation period, there were 7,739 immigration arrests and 48,015 deportations referencing cannabis possession. By 2020, 12 stated adopted recreational legalization and on average immigration enforcement was lower among RCL compared to non-RCL states. In primary adjusted models, we found no meaningful changes in arrest prevalence, either immediately following RCL adoption (Prevalence Ratio [PR]: 0.84; [95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.57, 1.11]), or 1-year after the law was effective (PR: 0.88 [CI: 0.56, 1.20]). For the deportation outcome, however, RCL adoption was associated with a moderate relative decrease in deportation prevalence in RCL versus non-RCL states (PR: 0.68 [CI: 0.56, 0.80]; PR 1-year lag: 0.68 [CI: 0.54, 0.82]). Additional analyses were mostly consistent by suggested some sensitivities to modeling specification.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that decreasing penalties for cannabis possession through state RCLs may reduce some aspects of immigration enforcement related to cannabis possession. Greater attention to the immigration-related consequences of current drug control policies is warranted, particularly as more states weigh the public health benefits and drawbacks of legalizing cannabis.

Available only for authorised users

Office of the Attorney General. Crime in California, 2017–2022 Reports. Published 2023. https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/resources/publications.

2019, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, Arrested P. Published 2019. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/persons-arrested.

Alexander M. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The New; 2020.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Highlights for the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Published 2022. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/2022-12/2021NSDUHFFRHighlightsRE123022.pdf.

Spohn C, editor. Racial disparities in prosecution, sentencing, and punishment. The Oxford Handbook of Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration. Oxford University Press; 2019.

Kilmer B, Caulkins JP, Kilborn M, Priest M, Warren KM. Cannabis Legalization and Social Equity: Some Opportunities, Puzzles, and Trade-offs Symposium: Marijuana Law 2020: Lessons from the Past, Ideas for the Future. BU L Rev. 2021;101(3):1003–1042.

Callaghan RC, Sanches M, Hathaway A, Asbridge M, MacDonald M, Kish SJ. Canada’s cannabis legalization and police-reported cannabis-related criminal incidents among youth, 2015–2021. Drug and Alcohol Depend. Published Online April. 2023;23:109892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109892CrossRef

Firth CL, Maher JE, Dilley JA, Darnell A, Lovrich NP. Did marijuana legalization in Washington State reduce racial disparities in adult marijuana arrests? Subst Use Misuse. 2019;54(9):1582–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1593007.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Joshi S, Doonan SM, Pamplin JR. A tale of two cities: racialized arrests following decriminalization and recreational legalization of cannabis. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023;249:109911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109911.CrossRefPubMed

10.

Willits DW, Solensten B, Meize M, et al. Racial disparities in the wake of Cannabis legalization: documenting persistence and change. Race and Justice. Published Online March. 2022;16:21533687221087355. https://doi.org/10.1177/21533687221087355CrossRef

11.

Sheehan BE, Grucza RA, Plunk AD. Association of Racial Disparity of Cannabis Possession arrests among adults and youths with Statewide Cannabis decriminalization and legalization. JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(10):e213435. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3435.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Plunk AD, Peglow SL, Harrell PT, Grucza RA. Youth and Adult arrests for Cannabis Possession after decriminalization and legalization of Cannabis. JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(8):763–9. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1539.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

13.

Gunadi C, Shi Y. Association of Recreational Cannabis Legalization with Cannabis Possession Arrest Rates in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(12):e2244922. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.44922.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

14.

Gunadi C, Shi Y. Cannabis decriminalization and racial disparity in arrests for cannabis possession. Soc Sci Med. 2022;293:114672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114672.CrossRefPubMed

15.

Hall W, Lynskey M. Assessing the public health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis use: the US experience. World Psychiatry. 2020;19(2):179–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20735.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

16.

Kilmer B. How will cannabis legalization affect health, safety, and social equity outcomes? It largely depends on the 14 ps. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2019;45(6):664–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2019.1611841.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

17.

Adinoff B, Reiman A. Implementing social justice in the transition from illicit to legal cannabis. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2019;45(6):673–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2019.1674862.CrossRefPubMed

18.

Cunnings J. Nonserious marijuana offenses and noncitizens: uncounseled pleas and disproportionate consequences. UCLA L Rev. 2015;62(2):510–71.

19.

Citizenship US, and Immigration Services (USCIS). Policy Alert: controlled substance-related ActivityGood Moral Character determinations. Published April 19, 2019. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20190419-ControlledSubstanceViolations.pdf.

20.

Tosh S. Drug prohibition and the criminalization of immigrants: the compounding of drug war disparities in the United States deportation regime. Int J Drug Policy. 2021;87:102846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102846.CrossRefPubMed

21.

Cerda IH, Macaranas AR, Liu CH, Chen JA. Strategies for naming and addressing structural racism in immigrant Mental Health. Am J Public Health. 2023;113(S1):S72–9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307165.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

22.

Crookes DM, Stanhope KK, Suglia SF. Immigrant-related policies and the Health outcomes of Latinx adults in the United States: a systematic review. Epidemiology. 2022;33(4):593–605. https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000001480.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

23.

Crookes DM, Stanhope KK, Kim YJ, Lummus E, Suglia SF. Federal, State, and Local Immigrant-Related Policies and Child Health Outcomes: a systematic review. J Racial Ethnic Health Disparities. 2022;9(2):478–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-00978-w.CrossRef

24.

Horyniak D, Melo JS, Farrell RM, Ojeda VD, Strathdee SA. Epidemiology of Substance Use among forced migrants: A global systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(7):e0159134. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159134.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

25.

Kortas GT, Abrahão ABB, Malbergier A, et al. Immigrants, refugees and cannabis use. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2022;34(1):59–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2022.2039595.CrossRefPubMed

26.

Salas-Wright CP, John R, Vaughn MG, et al. Trends in cannabis use among immigrants in the United States, 2002–2017: evidence from two national surveys. Addict Behav. 2019;99:106029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106029.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

27.

Friedman AS, Venkataramani AS. Chilling effects: US Immigration Enforcement and Health Care seeking among hispanic adults. Health Aff. 2021;40(7):1056–65. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.02356.CrossRef

28.

Bruzelius E, Baum A, The Mental Health of Hispanic/Latino Americans Following National Immigration Policy Changes. United States, 2014–2018. Am J Public Health. 2019;109(12):1786–8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305337.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

29.

Nichols VC, LeBrón AMW, Pedraza FI. Policing us sick: the Health of latinos in an era of heightened deportations and racialized policing. PS: Political Sci Politics. 2018;51(2):293–7. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096517002384.CrossRef

30.

Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Bridged-Race Resident Population Estimates United States, State and County for the years 1990–2020. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/help/bridged-race.html#About%201990-2020.

31.

Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS). Recreational Use of Cannabis. Published 2023. Accessed August 9. 2022. https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/cannabis-policy-topics/recreational-use-of-cannabis-volume-1/104.

32.

Powell D, Pacula RL, Jacobson M. Do medical marijuana laws reduce addictions and deaths related to pain killers? J Health Econ. 2018;58:29–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.12.007.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

33.

Gonçalves PD, Levy NS, Segura LE, et al. Cannabis recreational legalization and prevalence of simultaneous Cannabis and Alcohol Use in the United States. J Gen Intern Med. 2023;38(6):1493–500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-022-07948-w.CrossRefPubMed

34.

Gonçalves PD, Bruzelius E, Levy NS, et al. Recreational cannabis legislation and binge drinking in U.S. adolescents and adults. Int J Drug Policy. 2023;118:104085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104085.CrossRefPubMed

35.

ProCon.org. State-by-State Recreational Marijuana Laws. Published 2023. https://marijuana.procon.org/legal-recreational-marijuana-states-and-dc/.

36.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program. Published 2019. Accessed May 1. 2022. https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/leoka.

37.

National Governors Association. Former Governors. Published 2023. Accessed June 24. 2023. https://www.nga.org/former-governors/.

38.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Secure Communities Published Febr 9, 2021. https://www.ice.gov/secure-communities.

39.

Chand DE, Schreckhise WD. Secure communities and Community values: local context and Discretionary Immigration Law Enforcement. J Ethnic Migration Stud. 2015;41(10):1621–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2014.986441.CrossRef

40.

Frome EL, Checkoway H. Use of Poisson Regression models in estimating incidence rates and ratios. Am J Epidemiol. 1985;121(2):309–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114001.CrossRefPubMed

41.

Passel JS, Krogstad JM, Pew Research Center. What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., Detailed table: Unauthorized immigrant population for states (and margins of error), 1990–2021. Pew Research Center. Published 2023. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/16/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/.

42.

Goodman-Bacon A. Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing. J Econ. 2021;225(2):254–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2021.03.014.CrossRef

43.

Ke MPPMZ, Sj P. Immigration policies as political determinants of alcohol and drug misuse among US-born latinos. Int J Drug Policy. 2022;106:103754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103754.CrossRefPubMed

44.

Pinedo M. Deportation of Family members of US-Citizen latinos and Misuse of prescription drugs: United States, 2019. Am J Public Health. 2020;110(4):560–6. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305516.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

45.

Santaella-Tenorio J, Mauro CM, Wall MM, et al. US Traffic fatalities, 1985–2014, and their relationship to Medical Marijuana laws. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(2):336–42. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303577.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

46.

Matthay EC, Mousli L, Apollonio DE, Schmidt LA. Alignment in local approaches to alcohol and cannabis control policy: a case study of California cities and counties. Int J Drug Policy. 2023;119:104114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104114.CrossRefPubMed

47.

Roth J, Sant’Anna PHC, Bilinski A, Poe J. What’s Trending in Difference-in-Differences? A Synthesis of the Recent Econometrics Literature. Published online January 9, 2023. Accessed February 2, 2023. http://arxiv.org/abs/2201.01194.

Title: Recreational cannabis legalization and immigration enforcement: a state-level analysis of arrests and deportations in the United States, 2009–2020
Authors: Emilie Bruzelius
Silvia S. Martins
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18334-y

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Recreational cannabis legalization and immigration enforcement: a state-level analysis of arrests and deportations in the United States, 2009–2020

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

Outcomes of a homestead food production program on nutritional knowledge, dietary diversity, food security and empowerment of rural women in Tehran province, Iran

Enhancing routine HIV and STI testing among young men who have sex with men: primary outcomes of the get connected clinical randomized trial (ATN 139)

Investigation of the 1-week effect of traffic light nutrition labeling on diet selection among Japanese university students: a randomized controlled trial

Socioeconomic disparities in Papanicolaou test utilization in Western Iran

Community stigma, victimization, and coping strategies among gay, bisexual, and other cis-gender men who have sex with men in slum communities in Ghana. BSGH-003

Diabetes, life course and childhood socioeconomic conditions: an empirical assessment for Mexico