By researchers University of Basel Swiss researchers recently published a study on April 2nd that analyzed how the legalization of medical marijuana in the United States has affected the well-being of the country and its patients.
The researchers, titled “Medical Cannabis Laws and Mental Health in the United States'', wanted to determine the long-term effects of medical cannabis policies on patients. “The impact of legal access to medical cannabis on individual well-being is controversial,” the researchers wrote. “We contribute to the discussion by assessing the impact of the introduction of medical cannabis laws in each US state on self-reported mental health, considering different motivations for cannabis consumption.”
Researchers analyzed responses from 7.9 million people who took telephone surveys between 1993 and 2018. This information was collected through a behavioral risk factor surveillance system focused on collecting data on “mental health.” In addition to this, the researchers also utilized data collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Participants were placed in specific groupTo determine the overall impact of medical marijuana legalization on mental health, we conducted a study to determine the overall impact of medical marijuana legalization on mental health. It is aimed at people who have a high level of self-esteem. Additionally, researchers specifically considered the use of cannabis for chronic pain in general.
Mental health was measured by asking participants to self-rate by recording the number of days they experienced mental health problems in the month prior to the assessment.
Ultimately, the researchers found that medical marijuana legalization had no effect on recreational consumers or young people. “We find weak evidence that the liberalization of medical marijuana for the entire U.S. population has a positive impact on mental health,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion. “Although the estimated overall reduction in days of poor mental health is not statistically significant, this result still indicates that there is no evidence of an important aspect highlighting the risk of worsening mental health problems with MML.” It suggests that [medical marijuana laws] introduction. ”
“Eased access improves the mental health of people who use marijuana for medical reasons.” said the University of Basel. Press article. “The same is true for people who are significantly more likely to suffer from pain.'' The study authors found that changes in the law meant that these two groups spent 0.3 hours per month in poor mental health. We estimate that the number has decreased by a day.”
Professor Alois Stutzer also summarized these findings in his own statement. “Overall, our results show that the U.S. medical marijuana bill benefits the targeted population without harming other groups.” Stutzer said. He believes that the living conditions of recreational cannabis consumers have not worsened since legalization, and that ultimately,clear relationship Between liberalization and mental well-being. ”
The United States and Switzerland both share a federal government structure. Stutzer describes the latest research as “experimental itemBecause it will help pave the way for further research analyzing the future cannabis industry in Switzerland.
The latest study only looked at data collected before 2018, so we analyzed more recent data from many other states that have legalized medical and/or adult-use cannabis within the past five years. It would be interesting to see future research that does.
Switzerland is implementing a cannabis quarantine testing program to analyze consumer trends and sales patterns. The first data connected to one of these programs was recently released at the end of March.
The ZüriCan study included 1,928 people approved to purchase cannabis for the study (2,100 total participants available). The latest data shared that 80.7% of current participants are male, 18% are female, and 1% are non-binary. However, the demographic disparity was not surprising, as the researchers expected there to be significant differences in consumers related to gender.
Additionally, the researchers found that participants between the ages of 28 and 32 made up the highest proportion of all age groups (the average age of consumers is now 35). “Participation in this study appears to be particularly attractive to people who eat frequently,” the researchers wrote. “However, people who use cannabis only a few times a month are also participating in the study. This allows the study to compare people with different consumption habits.”
Program data also showed 6,500 sales and approximately 309 pounds of cannabis have been sold to date (individual packs were only available in 5-gram quantities).
Tobias Wigener, head of marketing at Cannabidia, which works directly with the Swiss Federal Public Health Agency, said: forbes On the importance of this early data. “Initial data from the ZüriCan pilot released this month reveals promising insights into the functioning of regulated cannabis markets and acceptance among participants,” Wigener said. “This level of engagement demonstrates positive acceptance and an effective distribution system, establishing a solid foundation to inform future cannabis policy and regulation.”
