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. 2014 Dec;104(12):2369-76.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301612. Epub 2014 Jan 16.

Medical marijuana laws and suicides by gender and age

D Mark Anderson  1 , Daniel I Rees, Joseph J Sabia
Affiliations

Medical marijuana laws and suicides by gender and age

D Mark Anderson et al. Am J Public Health. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: We estimated the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides.

Methods: We obtained state-level suicide data from the National Vital Statistics System's Mortality Detail Files for 1990-2007. We used regression analysis to examine the association between medical marijuana legalization and suicides per 100 000 population.

Results: After adjustment for economic conditions, state policies, and state-specific linear time trends, the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides was not statistically significant at the .05 level. However, legalization was associated with a 10.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = -17.1%, -3.7%) and 9.4% (95% CI = -16.1%, -2.4%) reduction in the suicide rate of men aged 20 through 29 years and 30 through 39 years, respectively. Estimates for females were less precise and sensitive to model specification.

Conclusions: Suicides among men aged 20 through 39 years fell after medical marijuana legalization compared with those in states that did not legalize. The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young men is consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana can be used to cope with stressful life events. However, this relationship may be explained by alcohol consumption. The mechanism through which legalizing medical marijuana reduces suicides among young men remains a topic for future study.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Trends before and after legalization of medical marijuana in male suicide rates: state-level suicide data from the National Vital Statistics System’s Mortality Detail Files, United States, 1990–2007. Note. On the x-axis, zero represents the year in which medical marijuana was legalized. It was randomly assigned to states that did not legalize marijuana during the study period.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Trends before and after legalization of medical marijuana in female suicide rates: state-level suicide data from the National Vital Statistics System’s Mortality Detail Files, United States, 1990–2007. Note. On the x-axis, zero represents the year in which medical marijuana was legalized. It was randomly assigned to states that did not legalize marijuana during the study period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • State-level relationships cannot tell us anything about individuals.
    Harris AH, Humphreys K, Finney JW. Harris AH, et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Apr;105(4):e8. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302604. Epub 2015 Feb 25. Am J Public Health. 2015. PMID: 25713959 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Anderson et al. respond.
    Anderson DM, Rees DI, Sabia JJ. Anderson DM, et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Apr;105(4):e8-9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302608. Epub 2015 Feb 25. Am J Public Health. 2015. PMID: 25713960 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide.
    Grucza RA, Hur M, Agrawal A, Krauss MJ, Plunk AD, Cavazos-Rehg PA, Chaloupka FJ, Bierut LJ. Grucza RA, et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Aug;105(8):e3. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302745. Epub 2015 Jun 11. Am J Public Health. 2015. PMID: 26066919 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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