Esther K Choo1, Madeline Benz2, Nikolas Zaller3, Otis Warren4, Kristin L Rising5, K John McConnell6. 1. Division of Women's Health in Emergency Care and Injury Prevention Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Electronic address: esther_choo@brown.edu. 2. Division of Women's Health in Emergency Care and Injury Prevention Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. 3. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Miriam Hospital, Warren Alpert Brown Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. 4. Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. 5. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6. Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The state-level legalization of medical marijuana has raised concerns about increased accessibility and appeal of the drug to youth. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of medical marijuana legalization across the United States by comparing trends in adolescent marijuana use between states with and without legalization of medical marijuana. METHODS: The study utilized data from the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey between 1991 and 2011. States with a medical marijuana law for which at least two cycles of Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance data were available before and after the implementation of the law were selected for analysis. Each of these states was paired with a state in geographic proximity that had not implemented the law. Chi-squared analysis was used to compare characteristics between states with and without medical marijuana use policies. A difference-in-difference regression was performed to control for time-invariant factors relating to drug use in each state, isolating the policy effect, and then calculated the marginal probabilities of policy change on the binary dependent variable. RESULTS: The estimation sample was 11,703,100 students. Across years and states, past-month marijuana use was common (20.9%, 95% confidence interval 20.3-21.4). There were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use before and after policy change for any state pairing. In the regression analysis, we did not find an overall increased probability of marijuana use related to the policy change (marginal probability .007, 95% confidence interval -.007, .02). CONCLUSIONS: This study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to legalization of medical marijuana.
PURPOSE: The state-level legalization of medical marijuana has raised concerns about increased accessibility and appeal of the drug to youth. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of medical marijuana legalization across the United States by comparing trends in adolescent marijuana use between states with and without legalization of medical marijuana. METHODS: The study utilized data from the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey between 1991 and 2011. States with a medical marijuana law for which at least two cycles of Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance data were available before and after the implementation of the law were selected for analysis. Each of these states was paired with a state in geographic proximity that had not implemented the law. Chi-squared analysis was used to compare characteristics between states with and without medical marijuana use policies. A difference-in-difference regression was performed to control for time-invariant factors relating to drug use in each state, isolating the policy effect, and then calculated the marginal probabilities of policy change on the binary dependent variable. RESULTS: The estimation sample was 11,703,100 students. Across years and states, past-month marijuana use was common (20.9%, 95% confidence interval 20.3-21.4). There were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use before and after policy change for any state pairing. In the regression analysis, we did not find an overall increased probability of marijuana use related to the policy change (marginal probability .007, 95% confidence interval -.007, .02). CONCLUSIONS: This study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to legalization of medical marijuana.
Authors: Tracy J Evans-Whipp; Stephanie M Plenty; Richard F Catalano; Todd I Herrenkohl; John W Toumbourou Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2015-03-19 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Pia M Mauro; Hannah Carliner; Qiana L Brown; Deborah S Hasin; Dvora Shmulewitz; Reanne Rahim-Juwel; Aaron L Sarvet; Melanie M Wall; Silvia S Martins Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2018-05 Impact factor: 2.582
Authors: Silvia S Martins; Christine M Mauro; Julian Santaella-Tenorio; June H Kim; Magdalena Cerda; Katherine M Keyes; Deborah S Hasin; Sandro Galea; Melanie Wall Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2016-10-11 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Rick Kosterman; Jennifer A Bailey; Katarina Guttmannova; Tiffany M Jones; Nicole Eisenberg; Karl G Hill; J David Hawkins Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2016-08-11 Impact factor: 5.012