Cannabis Law Enforcement Is Much Less Common Than Alcohol Enforcement Nationwide | Research

The takeaway

A national survey of over 1,000 law enforcement agencies found cannabis enforcement strategies were consistently less common than analogous alcohol enforcement, regardless of whether cannabis was legal in the state.

Policymakers, law enforcement leadership, and public health officials concerned about cannabis regulation implementation.

What the researchers found

Cannabis enforcement strategies were less common than their analogous alcohol strategies across all agency types. Cannabis-impaired driving enforcement and public use enforcement rates did not differ significantly between legal and nonlegal states. Agencies in legal states were more likely to train officers in cannabis impairment identification (RR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.42).

Why it matters

If cannabis legalization is accompanied by weak enforcement, many of the regulatory benefits (preventing youth access, reducing impaired driving, controlling public consumption) may not materialize. This study provides the first national baseline showing that cannabis enforcement significantly lags alcohol enforcement.

The numbers in context

1,024 local agencies, 53 state ABC agencies, 48 state patrol agencies surveyed. Cannabis-impaired driving enforcement: no significant difference between legal and nonlegal states. Officer training in cannabis impairment: RR=1.23 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.42) higher in legal states.

How the study worked

Surveys of 1,024 local law enforcement agencies, 53 state alcohol beverage control agencies, and 48 state patrol agencies. Prevalence of cannabis and analogous alcohol enforcement strategies compared across legal and nonlegal cannabis states.

What this study cannot tell us

Survey-based data may not accurately reflect actual enforcement practices. Response bias could affect which agencies participated. The study captured enforcement at one point in time, missing trends. Cannabis impairment detection tools are less developed than alcohol tools, which may constrain enforcement regardless of intent.

How to read the evidence

Large national survey across multiple agency types with appropriate statistical comparisons, though self-reported enforcement data may not reflect actual practice.

When this study was published

Published 2025.

The bigger picture

Alcohol enforcement has had decades to develop established protocols, trained officers, and institutional infrastructure. Cannabis enforcement is still catching up, even in states that legalized years ago. This gap may explain why some cannabis regulations exist on paper but have limited real-world impact.

Questions still open

Whether increased cannabis enforcement would reduce cannabis-related harms like impaired driving
What investment in training and technology is needed to bring cannabis enforcement in line with alcohol enforcement

Common questions

Why is cannabis enforcement less common than alcohol enforcement?

Several factors contribute: cannabis impairment is harder to detect than alcohol impairment (no simple breathalyzer equivalent), enforcement protocols are newer and less standardized, and in legal states there may be political pressure to deprioritize cannabis enforcement.

Does legalization change enforcement practices?

Mostly not, according to this study. Impaired driving and public use enforcement rates were similar in legal and nonlegal states. The main difference was that legal states were more likely to train officers in cannabis impairment identification.

Read the original research

Cannabis Enforcement Lags Behind Alcohol: A National Study of Law Enforcement Practices in Legal and Nonlegal States.

Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 86(5), 806-813

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Scholz, Natalie; Lenk, Kathleen M; Joshi, Spruha; Delehanty, Eileen; Erickson, Darin J; Toomey, Traci L; Jones-Webb, Rhonda; Nelson, Toben F. (2025). Cannabis Enforcement Lags Behind Alcohol: A National Study of Law Enforcement Practices in Legal and Nonlegal States.. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 86(5), 806-813. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.24-00200