The Impact of Legal Cannabis on Poverty and Homelessness in Pueblo County

Abstract

Poverty is a state of economic distress. In the US, measures of poverty are standardized by the federal government. Poverty and homelessness are related, but they are distinct demographic phenomena. There are many poor Americans who are not homeless. Homelessness is caused by a combination of a crisis-inducing economic shock and a lack of affordable housing. The most severely housing-challenged Americans spend 87% of their annual incomes on housing. According to Don Burnes, the Executive Director of the Burnes Center on Poverty and Homelessness, for many impoverished families, an unanticipated expense of $400 is sufficient to trigger a plunge into homelessness. There is no evidence that poverty has either increased or decreased in Pueblo as a result of cannabis legalization. There is evidence that homelessness in Pueblo has increased recently. Apart from anecdotal reports, there is no scientific evidence that links increased homelessness to legal cannabis. Instead, Black Hills Energy disconnected utilities from more than 7,000 Pueblo homes in 2016 and is, according to Posada's Anne Stattelman, the largest single cause of homelessness in Pueblo, It's the number one reason families are becoming homeless in our community.