Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they fight it out. (Part four of a four-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Adam Goers, senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.
  • Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.
  • Jared Polis, governor of Colorado.
  • Ryan Stoa, associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Prevalence of and Trends in Current Cannabis Use Among U.S. Youth and Adults, 2013–2022," by Delvon T. Mattingly, Maggie K. Richardson, and Joy L. Hart (Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 2024).
  • "Colorado’s Weed Market Is Coming Down Hard and It’s Making Other States Nervous," by Mona Zhang (Politico, 2024).
  • "Reducing Alcohol Consumption, the Nordic Way: Alcohol Monopolies, Marketing Bans and Higher Taxation," by the World Health Organization (2023).
  • "Economic Benefits and Social Costs of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana," by Jason P. Brown, Elior Cohen, and Alison Felix (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Research Working Paper, 2023).
  • "Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits," by the United States Department of the Treasury (2022).
  • "Alcohol Monopolies," by Robin Room (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, 2021).
  • "Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America," by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic, 2018).
  • "Marijuana Discontinuation, Anxiety Symptoms, and Relapse to Marijuana," by Marcel O. Bonn-Miller and Rudolf H. Moos (Addictive Behaviors, 2009).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is America Switching from Booze to Weed?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped into that too — and the first few years were lucrative. But now? It turns out that growing, processing, and selling weed is more complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour. (Part three of a four-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mountain Distillers.
  • Luca Boldrini, head of cultivation at The Pass.
  • Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.
  • Chris Weld, founder and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distillers.

• RESOURCES:
  • "As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms," by Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory, and Carson Kessler (The New York Times, 2024).
  • "Evaluation of Dispensaries’ Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids Content," by Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, et al. (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2024).
  • "The Complicated, Risky — but Potentially Lucrative — Business of Selling Cannabis," by James R. Hagerty (The Wall Street Journal, 2023).
  • "Marijuana Content Labels Can’t Be Trusted," by Shira Schoenberg (CommonWealth Beacon, 2022).
  • "Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases — Just How Much Depends on Where It’s Grown," by Jason Quinn and Hailey Summers (The Conversation, 2021).
  • "Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)," by Katlyn E. McGraw, Anne E, Nigra, Tiffany R. Sanchez, et al. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2018).
  • "The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production," by Evan Mills (Energy Policy, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research about an unintended consequence of Roe v. Wade.

• SOURCES:
  • John Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School.
  • Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire.
  • Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of economics at Amherst College.

• RESOURCES:
  • “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019).
  • “The Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut,” by John J. Donohue (Stanford Law School Legal Aggregate, 2016).
  • “Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime,” by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes (The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007).
  • “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001).
  • “State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment,” by Rebecca M. Blank, Christine C. George, and Rebecca A. London (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994).

• EXTRAS:
  • "John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).