The policy of ‘depenalising’ cannabis in Lambeth between 2001 and 2002 – where people with small quantities of cannabis were given a warning instead of being arrested – led to an 8% fall in overall crime in the area. That is one of the findings revealed by a new documentary, 'Should Cannabis Be Legalised?', now available free online.
The documentary, by production start-up Econ Films, focuses on a study by economists Jérôme Adda, Brendon McConnell and Imran Rasul on the effect of depenalisation on crime, which was presented at the Royal Economic Society's 2012 annual conference.