P O L I C Y B R I

provide evidence that cannabis legalization reduces unem- ployment in a state and might improve overall labor force • The legalization of cannabis for medical or adult use will participation but the mechanism by which this occurs is still have no impact on the wages for workers in a jurisdiction unclear. [...] The two studies symptom management.15 looking at adult use legalization and the single study analyz- ing medical legalization conclude that the adoption of such Researchers Keshar Ghimire and Johanna Maclean utilized laws has no impact on wages.7 The most recent study from the same dataset and a similar methodology in a separate two economists at the University of Oregon evaluated the study to rea. [...] They found that “while the number of workers in fects.16 They also are the only researchers to complete an the relevant sectors increased following the entry of cannabis analysis of the impact of adult-use legalization on disability producers and retailers, the wage per worker remained effec- programs. [...] They found that the number of claims for disability tively constant.”8 benefits increased but that the number of claims paid was unaffected.17 Impacts on Workers’ Compensation and Disability Programs Conclusion Employers and others have raised concerns that the legali- The research we have compiled in this study shows that zation of marijuana might result in a significant cost to them concerns tha. [...] 2077 (2021) (finding that adoption of a medical cannabis market improved labor force participation for 30- to 39-year-old females and had no impact across other age groups); Lauren Hersch Nicholas and Johanna Catherine Maclean, The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on the Health and Labor Supply of Older Adults: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study, 38 Pol’y Anal.