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van Ours, JanC. (2025). Early history of cannabis use in Amsterdam Applied Economics Letters.

  • Journal
    Applied Economics Letters
View publication

Around 50 years ago, the Netherlands decriminalized cannabis for recreational use. This article uses retrospective data on the ages at which individuals began and ceased cannabis use to reconstruct its prevalence in Amsterdam during the period surrounding the policy change. This approach enables a detailed analysis of the policy{\textquoteright}s effects. The main conclusion is that the introduction of this policy did not lead to an increase in the prevalence of cannabis use.