According to a study out of the Netherlands, college students who have access to recreational weed on average earn worse grades and are failing classes at a higher rate.
The study involved an experiment at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Economists Olivier Marie and Ulf Zolitz were able to conduct the study after Maastricht changed the rules for “cannabis cafes,” which legally sell recreational marijuana. The city restricted noncitizens of the Netherlands from buying from the cafes.
While students from other countries were not able to acquire weed, while students from the Netherlands were, it allowed for the experiment.
The study was published in the Review of Economic Studies and was conducted on more than 4,000 students. Research showed that those who were not able to require legal recreational weed had improved in their grades. They also had more than a 5% increase in their odds of passing their classes.
This study has been the strongest study yet to show how people are affected by marijuana legalization, especially in an academic setting.
