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Budding enrollment: The impact of cannabis policy on US colleges and universities

Joshua H. Hess & Danna Thomas

Contemporary Economic Policy2026https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.70029article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We examine how liberalized recreational marijuana laws have affected freshmen enrollment and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major choice using difference‐in‐differences and event study models. Estimates indicate near‐zero initial enrollment growth as schools substituted between in‐state and out‐of‐state students. However, total enrollment increased in later periods as out‐of‐state gains persisted and in‐state enrollment returned to its baseline. We find little evidence of an adverse effect on total freshmen STEM major enrollment.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.70029

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@article{joshua2026,
  title        = {{Budding enrollment: The impact of cannabis policy on US colleges and universities}},
  author       = {Joshua H. Hess & Danna Thomas},
  journal      = {Contemporary Economic Policy},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.70029},
}

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Budding enrollment: The impact of cannabis policy on US colleges and universities

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.