Marijuana remains illegal in Wisconsin, but the legalization of recreational marijuana in neighboring Michigan and Illinois in late 2019 and early 2020, respectively, provided Wisconsinites near these state borders with easier access to legal marijuana. Its consumption is expected to increase even though use remains illegal in Wisconsin. It remains unknown, how increased access to marijuana by parents affect involvement with child protective services (CPS). On the one hand, parental use of marijuana may negatively impact child-safety and child-rearing ability. On the other, parents may substitute alcohol, opioids, or other drugs for marijuana which could have a positive effect on CPS involvement if marijuana misuse is less disruptive on parenting ability. The sudden increase in access to legal dispensaries provides a natural experiment for evaluating the effects of counties’ distance to dispensaries on CPS outcomes. Using child protective services (CPS) report data, I evaluate how the type and amount of CPS involvement have changed in Wisconsin counties closest to legal marijuana dispensaries, compared to counties further away before and after the legalization in neighboring states, using a difference-in-differences approach.

Accepted Poster Presentation