States with Adult-Use Pot Saw Decrease in Alcohol Use, No Increase in Teen Substance Abuse

Legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis has increased retail sales in Canada and the United States. Does not lead to an overall increase in teen drug abusediscovered a team of researchers. They also found that adult use laws led to a “slight reduction” in alcohol and e-cigarette use among teens.

The study was led by co-principal investigators Rebecca Levin Corey, a professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Summer Sherburne Hawkins, a professor in the School of Social Work, and Christopher F. Boehm, chair of the economics department. They believe they are one of the first to evaluate the relationship between adult-use cannabis legislation and recreational cannabis retail sales through 2021, as well as teen substance abuse. Naoka Carey, a doctoral candidate in the Lynch School’s Department of Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, and Claudia Kurzik, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park, also contributed to the study.

Cross section study The paper is titled “Recreational Cannabis Legalization, Retail Sales, and Youth Drug Use by 2021,” and is online and JAMA Pediatrics Researchers used survey datasets to assess adult-use cannabis legalization and retail sales policies, as well as youth drug use through 2021.

Adult-use cannabis legalization is associated with small decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use, and retail sales are associated with decreases in e-cigarette use among young consumers. Although the likelihood of using cannabis was low, it was found that the frequency of use was increasing. offset, leading to “no overall change in cannabis use.”

With 24 states and Washington, D.C., enacting adult-use cannabis laws and 18 states implementing adult-use cannabis sales, we found no evidence to suggest the problem is resolved.

Survey results show impact of adult-use cannabis legalization

The researchers wanted to sort through the perceived effects of cannabis legalization to determine whether it actually led to an increase in drug abuse, but they found no association.

“While studies from early enacting states and Canada have reported that recreational marijuana laws have had little impact on youth drug abuse, experts believe that the enactment of laws and the widespread use of retail , and other policies targeting changes in adolescent drug use, highlight the need for further evaluation of policy outcomes in adolescents,” the authors said. “We found a limited association between recreational cannabis legalization and retail sales with youth drug use, extending previous findings.”

However, overall, findings are mixed and do not show an increase in drug use among teens, with some data showing that cannabis use is less likely despite increased frequency. They also reached other noteworthy conclusions regarding the effects of adult-use cannabis on alcohol use and e-cigarette use.

“According to researchers” April 18th announcement “Recreational cannabis legalization is associated with small decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use; retail sales are associated with decreases in e-cigarette use and youth consumers Although they are less likely to use cannabis, the frequency of use has also increased, but this has not led to an overall change in cannabis use.

The findings indicate that, overall, drug use among teenagers has not increased significantly.

“These results suggest that legalization and increased control of the cannabis market have not facilitated youth’s entry into drug use,” the study’s co-authors noted.

Other studies show no link between adult-use cannabis and cannabis

This study is broadly consistent with previous data showing no link between legalization and increased drug abuse. Previous research has also found that although cannabis use is increasing, rates of alcohol abuse are decreasing and there has been no overall increase in substance abuse disorders.

The researchers study“The legalization of recreational cannabis has had a limited impact on a wide range of psychiatric and psychosocial outcomes in adults,” published by Cambridge University Press on January 5. In it, researchers “seek to quantify the causal effects that recreational cannabis legalization may have on drug use, substance use, use disorders, psychosocial functioning, and vulnerable populations.” whether people are more susceptible to the effects of cannabis legalization than other people. ”

They found that living in a legal state was “not associated” with substance abuse disorder, but it did lead to more cannabis use and less alcohol use. In fact, living in a legal state was associated with lower rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

“In a co-twin control design accounting for early cannabis use frequency and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms, twins living in recreational states used cannabis more frequently than twins living in vacation homes, on average. “There were fewer AUD symptoms” in the non-recreational state. Cannabis legalization was not associated with other adverse outcomes in a twin design, including cannabis use disorder. No risk factors significantly interacted with legalization status to predict outcome. ”

More research is emerging as experts determine the public health impact of adult-use cannabis policies, laws, and retail sales in multiple states.