Journal
PREVENTION SCIENCE
Volume 20, Issue 2, Pages 205-214Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s11121-017-0848-3
Keywords
Medical marijuana laws; Cannabis; Gender; Marijuana use
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse [R01 DA037866]
- J. William Fulbright doctoral scholarship
- Colciencias doctoral scholarship
- [T32 DA031099]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In states that have passed medical marijuana laws (MMLs), marijuana use (MU) increased after MML enactment among people ages 26 and older, but not among ages 12-25. We examined whether the age-specific impact of MMLs on MU varied by gender. Data were obtained from the 2004-2013 restricted-use National Survey on Drug Use and Health, aggregated at the state level. The exposure was a time-varying indicator of state-level MML (0=No Law, 1=Before Law, 2=After Law). Outcomes included past-month MU prevalence, daily MU prevalence among past-year users (i.e., 300+days/year), and past-year marijuana use disorder (MUD) prevalence. Linear models tested the state-level MML effect on outcomes by age (12-17, 18-25, 26+) and gender. Models included a state-level random intercept and controlled for time- and state-level covariates. Past-month MU did not increase after enactment of MML in men or women ages 12-25. Among people 26+, past-month MU increased for men from 7.0% before to 8.7% after enactment (+1.7%, p<0.001) and for women from 3.1% before to 4.3% after enactment (+1.1%, p=0.013). Among users 26+, daily MU also increased after enactment in both genders (men 16.3 to 19.1%, +2.8%, p=0.014; women 9.2 to 12.7%, +3.4%, p=0.003). There were no statistically significant increases in past-year MUD prevalence for any age or gender group after MML enactment. Given the statistically significant increase in daily use among past-year users aged 26+ following enactment, education campaigns should focus on informing the public of the risks associated with regular marijuana use.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available