Pipe dreams: Cannabis legalization and the persistence of racial disparities in jail incarceration

There is an emerging body of research examining the impact of adult-use recreational cannabis legalization on racial disparities in arrests, yet this is among the first studies to examine changes to the jail population composition. We use a quasi-experimental design, including difference-in-differences (DiD) analysis and matching via the synthetic control method (SCM) to examine the impact of recreational cannabis legalization on Black–White disparity in jail populations in Colorado and Washington State. Our findings reveal that Black–White disparity has overall declined in both legalized and criminalized states. We observe more of a reduction in Black–White disparity in legalized states; however, the results are not substantially or statistically significantly different (DiD results: Estimate = −0.052, SE = 0.320, p = 0.872; SCM results being consistent with the DiD results). This research provides important insight into continued racialized social control even when laws become liberalized. Further, the findings of this study have important policy implications, as voters and legislative bodies should seek policies more purposefully designed to reduce racial disparity in the jail population if this is their goal. •Legalization was not associated with significant decreases in Black-White jail incarceration disparity in CO and WA.•Black-White disparity in jail incarceration persisted following legalization in CO and WA.•Black-White disparity in jail incarceration has overall declined in both legalized and nonlegalized states.•A quasi-experimental design was employed to examine the Black–White disparity in large jails.