“CRIME! LOWER HOME VALUES! TEENS SMOKING DOPE!”

Sorry haters, but a new Leafly study concludes that cannabis businesses make pretty good neighbors and even raise property values. As states and municipalities weigh the implications of legalization (or not), many officials and regulators are considering the rhetorical tropes of cannabis driving property values down and the “NIMBYisms” we’re all too familiar with. Unfortunately, as many states and cities are learning the hard way, where legalization does not occur cannabis doesn’t just go away it simply is left to be sold on an unregulated market.

Not every cannabis stereotype is true (duh!)

Budtender, compliance officer, cannabis consultancy blogger. We all understand that the cannabis industry is creating jobs across legalized states and cities, in addition to providing tax revenue for local and state governments. But this study went deeper into the effect cannabis can have on communities.

To get a clearer idea of what’s really going on (and maybe to debunk some of these stereotypes), Leafly and researchers at Humboldt State looked at data from Washington and Colorado, states with over five years of legalization data and business numbers. The numbers were surprising (from the report):

• In Denver, CO. new home prices were up 7.7% within a half-mile radius of dispensaries
• No increase in crime rates around medical marijuana or adult-use dispensaries
• Teen usage remained flat or decreased across areas that were surveyed. Notably, teen use in Washington was at a 20-year low. Go figure.

The full article (and ensuing series) from Leafly is worth your time. If nothing else, the reporting shows that more transparency, regulation, licensing (and compliance) with cannabis can be great for creating jobs and contribute benefits to communities.