Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb 1:183:62-68.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.10.021. Epub 2017 Dec 7.

Medical marijuana laws and adolescent use of marijuana and other substances: Alcohol, cigarettes, prescription drugs, and other illicit drugs

Magdalena Cerdá  1 , Aaron L Sarvet  2 , Melanie Wall  3 , Tianshu Feng  4 , Katherine M Keyes  5 , Sandro Galea  6 , Deborah S Hasin  7
Affiliations

Medical marijuana laws and adolescent use of marijuana and other substances: Alcohol, cigarettes, prescription drugs, and other illicit drugs

Magdalena Cerdá et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: Historical shifts have taken place in the last twenty years in marijuana policy. The impact of medical marijuana laws (MML) on use of substances other than marijuana is not well understood. We examined the relationship between state MML and use of marijuana, cigarettes, illicit drugs, nonmedical use of prescription opioids, amphetamines, and tranquilizers, as well as binge drinking.

Methods: Pre-post MML difference-in-difference analyses were performed on a nationally representative sample of adolescents in 48 contiguous U.S. states. Participants were 1,179,372U.S. 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in the national Monitoring the Future annual surveys conducted in 1991-2015. Measurements were any self-reported past-30-day use of marijuana, cigarettes, non-medical use of opioids, amphetamines and tranquilizers, other illicit substances, and any past-two-week binge drinking (5+ drinks per occasion).

Results: Among 8th graders, the prevalence of marijuana, binge drinking, cigarette use, non-medical use of opioids, amphetamines and tranquilizers, and any non-marijuana illicit drug use decreased after MML enactment (0.2-2.4% decrease; p-values:<0.0001-0.0293). Among 10th graders, the prevalence of substance use did not change after MML enactment (p-values: 0.177-0.938). Among 12th graders, non-medical prescription opioid and cigarette use increased after MML enactment (0.9-2.7% increase; p-values: <0.0001-0.0026).

Conclusions: MML enactment is associated with decreases in marijuana and other drugs in early adolescence in those states. Mechanisms that explain the increase in non-medical prescription opioid and cigarette use among 12th graders following MML enactment deserve further study.

Keywords: Adolescents; Marijuana legalization; Medical marijuana; Substance use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

No conflict declared

References

    1. Anderson D, Hansen B, Rees D. Medical marijuana laws, traffic fatalities, and alcohol consumption. J Law Econ. 2013;56:333–369.
    1. Angrist JD, Krueger AB. Empirical strategies in labor economics. In: Ashenfelter O, Card D, editors. Handbook of Labor Economics. 3A. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 1999. pp. 1277–1366.
    1. Angrist JD, Pischke JS. Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist’s companion. Princeton University Press; Princeton: 2009.
    1. Bachhuber MA, Saloner B, Cunningham CO, Barry CL. Medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in the United States, 1999–2010. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174:1668–1673. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bachman JG, Johnston LD, O’Malley PM. Explaining the recent decline in cocaine use among young adults: Further evidence that perceived risks and disapproval lead to reduced drug use. J Health Soc Behav. 1990;31:173–184. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances