Research on the use of alcohol, tobacco and, in Holland, cannabis, has found that as the number of outlets where these substances can be sold increases, so does overall consumption.
However, when times of sale are restricted, it tends to lower people's use — though this can also cause its own problems. Until 2003, pubs in
... England were required to close at the same time; so patrons would rush to get their drinks down before last call, and crowds of drunk people ended up flooding the streets at closing time, which raised the risk of injury and public violence.
After 2003, however, a change in policy allowed more bars to stay open longer. That mitigated the closing-time effect, but was linked with increased alcohol consumption overall.
Still, the same public-safety problems may not apply to marijuana sales, in part because the marijuana high is not associated with increased risk of violence or public disorder. "I'm much less convinced [of the effectiveness of regulating selling places and times] with cannabis," says Kleiman. "It tends not to be an impulse purchase. People buy multiple doses [for future use]. That being the case, it's not at all clear that alcohol-related stuff is really going to [apply]."
In fact, if people began substituting marijuana for alcohol, there could even be a reduction in violent crime. But no one knows whether legalization would lead people to substitute marijuana or simply supplement the use of other drugs with it. Both behaviors have been seen among drug users: some deliberately replace heroin or cocaine with marijuana in an attempt to lessen the destructiveness of their drug problem; others tend to use all together or none.
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