In other parts of the US and the world where marijuana has been decriminalized, the statistics show that its use does not increase over the long term. An article* published in 2000 examined the deterrent effect of marijuana prohibition and concluded that prohibition provided little or no deterrence. According to the authors of this study, people who lived in areas where marijuana use was decriminalized had lower or comparable rates of use to those who lived in places where marijuana was illegal. In fact, one study cited in an Institute of Medicine report found that in states where marijuana was decriminalized, emergency room patients had lower rates of use of other illicit drugs.

* E. Single et al. 2000. The Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization in Australia and the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy 21: 157-186.