In November 2012, Washington State voters passed Initiative 502 to regulate and tax the use and sale of cannabis for persons twenty-one years of age and older. As part of I-502, WSIPP was directed to “conduct cost-benefit evaluations of the implementation” of the law. The evaluations must include measures of impacts on public health, public safety, cannabis use, the economy, the criminal justice system, and state and local costs and revenues.

A preliminary report was released in September 2015. The second required report was released in September 2017, and the third required report was released in September 2023. The last mandated report is due in 2032.

Previous Findings
Supplemental to the ongoing benefit-cost evaluation of cannabis legalization authorized by Initiative 502 in 2012, the 2018 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct additional cannabis research. WSIPP was directed to update its inventory of programs for the prevention and treatment of youth cannabis use; examine current data collection methods measuring the use of cannabis by youth and potential ways to improve on these methods; and identify effective methods used to reduce or eliminate the unlicensed cultivation or distribution of marijuana in jurisdictions with existing legal marijuana markets.

Related reports:
Monitoring Trends in Use Prior to Implementation of I-502 and Employment and Wage Earnings in Licensed Marijuana Businesses.

Recent Findings
Initiative 502 and Cannabis-Related Public Health and Safety Outcomes: Third Required Report
We describe findings from analyses of the relationship between non-medical cannabis legalization or licensed retail operations and various outcomes. First, we examined how cannabis possession misdemeanor conviction rates changed in Washington after the passage of I-502. Second, we examined how reported cannabis use has changed in Washington after the passage of I-502 compared to non-legalizing states. Last, we specifically focused on the impact of local access to licensed non-medical retailers. For these analyses, we examined how retail access relates to substance abuse and traffic safety outcomes within the state over time.

Reported Substance Use: Using national survey data, we compared changes in the rates of reported cannabis, alcohol, and other substance use in Washington after the enactment of I-502 and the start of a licensed retail market, relative to changes in comparable states that did not legalize non-medical cannabis.

Cannabis-Related Convictions: We examined how rates of cannabis possession misdemeanor convictions have changed since the enactment of I-502. We examined conviction rates separately for different ages, sex, and racial groups.

Traffic Fatalities: We examined the relationship between greater access to licensed non-medical cannabis retailers and the prevalence of fatal traffic collisions. We also examined the relationship between retail accessibility and the prevalence of drivers involved in a fatal crash who test positive for THC both alone and in combination with alcohol.

Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses: We examined the relationship between greater access to licensed non-medical cannabis retailers and the probability of cannabis use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or opioid use disorder diagnoses.

High School Outcomes: We examined the relationship between school proximity to an operational non-medical cannabis retailer and high school outcomes, including attendance, disciplinary outcomes, and high school graduation.

The 2025 Legislature passed a study to evaluate potential cost savings for the state of Washington if legally responsible individuals, such as parents, are allowed to serve as paid caregivers for their developmentally disabled children. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy will lead the study, with required cooperation from the Office of the State Actuary, the Department of Social and Health Services, the Health Care Authority, and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to ensure access to necessary data and resources. The study will, to the extent possible, quantify cost savings from reduced reliance on entitlement programs, decreased use of hospitals, foster care, and residential facilities, and any likely additional savings related to this policy.

An initial report is due to the legislature by December 31, 2025, with a final report due by November 15, 2026.

The 2020 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA). DOSA allows individuals to participate in treatment and community supervision in lieu of some (Prison DOSA) or all (Residential DOSA) of their incarceration sentence. This evaluation will examine whether participation in DOSA reduces recidivism and whether those effects vary for prison- and residential-based DOSA programs. The legislature directed WSIPP to repeat these evaluations on a regular schedule to continuously monitor the effects of the program.

An introduction to the ongoing report series that describes the development of DOSA can be found here. The initial evaluation report can be found here. Additional evaluation reports are due to the governor and the legislature on November 1, 2028, and every five years thereafter.

The 2021 Legislature passed 2SHB 1044 expanding the types of postsecondary education programs eligible for state funding in the Department of Corrections’ (DOC) incarceration facilities. The bill directs WSIPP to study recidivism, enrollment, and completion rates of incarcerated persons in the postsecondary education system after release from incarceration. The study will use data from DOC, the Washington Student Achievement Council, and the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. The study must include the following:

• Patterns and effects on post-release enrollment and participation in the community and technical college sector by individuals who, while incarcerated, participated in postsecondary education;
• Differential outcomes for individuals participating in different types of postsecondary education courses, certificates, and degree programs;
• Changes in enrollment and completion of postsecondary education courses, certificate programs, and degree programs due to the expansion in postsecondary education programming; and
• Recidivism outcomes other than incarceration for those individuals who participated in postsecondary education while incarcerated.

The preliminary report can be found here. A final report is due October 1, 2027.

The 2018 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to assess the impact of changes to the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA), as outlined in E2SSB 6160. To the extent possible, the study should include impacts to community safety, racial disproportionality, recidivism, state expenditures, and youth rehabilitation.

The 2019 Legislature amended WSIPP’s assignment to include an assessment of additional components contained in Sections 2-6 of E2SHB 1646. WSIPP must also conduct a benefit-cost analysis which includes the health impacts and recidivism effects of extending the JJA to include all offenses committed under the age of twenty-one.

A preliminary report was originally due to the legislature by December 1, 2023. In September 2023, the WSIPP Board of Directors voted to shift the deadlines to June 30, 2024. The preliminary report can be found here. A final report is due to the governor and the legislature by December 1, 2031.

In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed 2SHB 1818, which expanded the use of rental vouchers for individuals leaving incarceration in state prisons from three to six months. As a part of this bill, the Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct an evaluation and benefit-cost analysis of Washington’s Housing Voucher Program, accounting for the new expansion to six months. The assignment directs WSIPP to consider not only recidivism outcomes, but also impacts on homelessness, use of public services, and other factors WSIPP deems relevant.

A final report is due to the governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2025.

After individuals are transferred out of incarceration to partial confinement or released to the community, case managers refer these individuals to reentry service providers. The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) is conducting an experiment to examine methods to increase access to community providers to reduce the likelihood of recidivism. WSIPP’s Board of Directors approved a contract with DOC for WSIPP to evaluate this experiment.

The preliminary report can be found here. The final report is due December 1, 2025.

Past research on prison visitation consistently finds that most incarcerated people never receive a single visit while incarcerated. A major reason for this is that individuals are frequently sent to prison facilities that are not located near their home community. As a result, participating in prison visitation often requires friends and family to travel long distances. In addition to paying for transportation, visitors may need to cover the costs of lodging, childcare, and lost wages from taking time off work. Because it is common for incarcerated individuals to come from economically disadvantaged communities, one of the main explanations for low rates of visitation is that many people who wish to visit incarcerated loved ones cannot afford to do so.

At the same time, evidence suggests that increasing visitation may benefit the correctional system and public safety. In addition, since it is common for people to live with family when they first leave prison, visitation plays an important role in helping individuals maintain these relationships while preparing for community reentry.

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) offers several programs to facilitate visitation. WSIPP will examine whether the behavior of incarcerated individuals (measured through infractions) changes before or after a scheduled visitation, if there are any impacts on behavior conditional upon the type of visit, and if patterns of visitation impact recidivism.

A report will be published in the fall of 2025.

It is widely recognized that experimental research is the strongest design for testing causal relationships between variables. Despite the importance of experimental research in understanding the impact of incarceration and prison programming, its use in correctional settings is rare for both practical and ethical reasons.

A preliminary literature review identified few studies that have used experimental designs or natural experiments in partnership with the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC). Much more commonly, quasi-experimental research has been used to assess policies and program impacts. WSIPP will work with DOC to explore potential ways that WSIPP could collaborate with DOC to produce improved policy evaluations for corrections programs offered in Washington State.

A report will be published in the summer of 2025.

The 2023 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Health Care Authority to contract with WSIPP to study the short-term implementation and long-term effectiveness of the Recover Navigator Program (RNP) authorized under RCW 71.24.115 and the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs authorized under RCW 71.24.589.

The first report will be an implementation assessment of statewide RNP and LEAD programs. It will include descriptions of the current state of RNP and LEAD program implementation, the core principles of these programs as currently implemented, barriers to achieving higher fidelity to core principles established by RNP and LEAD administration, best practices published in existing research or by other relevant stakeholders, and the utilization of technical support of the LEAD national support bureau. The report will also provide further recommendations for additional research and analysis that may be needed.

The implementation assessment can be found here.

Additional reports are due on June 30, 2028, June 30, 2033, and June 30, 2038.

WSIPP will update and expand its previous analyses of recidivism trends. Earlier reports, covering the period from 1995 to 2014, examined four justice-involved populations: adults convicted of a crime, adults released from prison, youth convicted of a crime, and youth released from Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) facilities. These reports found a general decline in recidivism across all groups, though the extent of the decline varied by type of recidivism, initial offense, and demographic characteristics, indicating differences across sub-populations. The upcoming update will introduce additional measures of recidivism to provide a more comprehensive understanding of justice system interactions, align methodologies with national best practices to support broader comparisons and improve data automation to enable more frequent and cost-effective reporting.

The study will be published by June 30, 2026.

The legislature recognizes that Washington State agencies face limited electronic access to peer-reviewed journals, often requiring staff to purchase individual articles, outsource searches, or visit libraries—resulting in inefficient and costly use of state resources. Observing that other states have improved access and reduced costs through statewide journal subscription models, the 2025 Legislature tasked WSIPP with exploring whether a similar approach would benefit Washington. This study will examine potential funding options, organizational structures, and mechanisms for providing state employees with electronic access to academic, scholarly, and scientific peer-reviewed journals.

The report is due to the legislature by June 30, 2026.

The 2024 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP, in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Health Care Authority (HCA), to study the current landscape of emergency medical services (EMS) in Washington. The study aims to evaluate the current EMS landscape and explore how other states fund or have considered funding EMS through federal, state, or local government.

WSIPP’s study includes examining trends in the number and types of EMS available, the volume of 911 responses, and the volume of interfacility transports provided by EMS organizations. Trends will be examined over time and across counties in Washington. Our study will also estimate the projected need for EMS services over the next two years.

Furthermore, WSIPP’s study will identify geographic disparities in EMS access, specifically noting areas without access to EMS services within a 25-minute average response time. WSIPP is also tasked with estimating the costs required to address gaps in EMS coverage and ensure timely access to services statewide.

In addition, the study will investigate models for EMS used by other states and review existing research and literature on EMS funding strategies.

To inform its findings, WSIPP will engage with EMS organizations, local governments, hospitals, labor organizations representing EMS personnel, and other relevant stakeholders identified by WSIPP and DOH, HCA, and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A report is due to DOH and the legislature by June 1, 2026.

The 2021 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to evaluate the Guided Pathways Model. Guided Pathways is a community and technical college reform that aims to improve student experience and outcomes through changes to academic program structure, advising, instruction, and progress monitoring.

WSIPP’s preliminary report will review the implementation of the Guided Pathways Model in Washington and any available evidence of the effectiveness of the Guided Pathways Model. If possible, this report will also evaluate the effect of the Guided Pathways Model on early student outcomes, including, but not limited to, student retention and persistence, college-level English and math within the first year, graduation and transfer rates. The preliminary report can be found here.

A final report will evaluate the effect of Guided Pathways on longer-term student outcomes including, but not limited to, degree completion, time to degree, transfer to four-year institutions, employment, and earnings, to the extent possible. The final report is due in December 2029.

WSIPP receives funding from the legislature to conduct research on K-12 education topics that are relevant to Washington. Chronic absenteeism, defined as a student missing 10% or more school days in an academic year, has become an increasing concern at the national and state levels. Research indicates that missing school, whether excused or unexcused, is associated with lower academic achievement, negative behavioral outcomes, and an increased risk of dropping out of school. Between 2018 and 2023, a period that corresponds with the COVID-19 pandemic, national chronic absenteeism rates rose from 15% to 26%, while rates in Washington increased from 15% to 30%.

To better understand this topic, WSIPP will study student absenteeism in Washington, including the factors that contribute to it, absenteeism rates over time and by student populations, and the policies and interventions school districts use to reduce absences and engage students.

WSIPP will publish a report to the legislature July 15th, 2025.

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy was directed by the 2025 Legislature to develop an inventory of evidence-based and research-based policies and programs aimed at reducing impaired driving and its associated fatalities and serious injuries. In consultation with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and other relevant entities, WSIPP must compile national and international research related to three specific policy areas: lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration from 0.08, implementing sobriety checkpoints, and increasing enforcement and penalties for impaired driving. WSIPP will publish a report detailing the projected costs and benefits of these policies and programs, including a comparative assessment of their effectiveness. The report may also offer recommendations for future research.

The inventory will be published by June 30, 2026.

The 2024 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to assess the passenger and air cargo forecasts cited in the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Regional Aviation Baseline Study. This assessment will include an evaluation of the underlying data, assumptions, methodologies, and calculation of the level of uncertainty around the forecast.

Additionally, WSIPP was tasked with conducting a literature review to identify effective national and international strategies to reduce demand for air travel. These strategies could include diverting air travel demand to alternative modes of transportation to avoid environmental impacts on overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.

Lastly, the report will review existing operational and technological enhancements designed to address the environmental impacts of commercial aviation activities. This includes examining climate-friendly aircraft technologies, innovations targeting the climate effects of non-CO2 emissions from aviation, simulation models for congested airports, and online tools for tracking, analyzing, and improving the carbon footprints of aviation activities. The review will assess the feasibility of implementing these enhancements within Washington.

A report is due to the legislature by December 31, 2025.