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
. 2021 Jan;68(1):110-115.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.03.039. Epub 2020 May 8.

Effects of Recreational Marijuana Legalization on College Students: A Longitudinal Study of Attitudes, Intentions, and Use Behaviors

Anna K Barker  1 , Megan A Moreno  2
Affiliations

Effects of Recreational Marijuana Legalization on College Students: A Longitudinal Study of Attitudes, Intentions, and Use Behaviors

Anna K Barker et al. J Adolesc Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: As legal recreational marijuana use expands rapidly across the U.S., there is growing concern that this will lead to higher rates of use among college-aged young adults. Given the limited research addressing this issue, a longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate the effects of legalizing recreational use on the attitudes, intentions, and marijuana use behaviors of college students in two different legalization contexts, Washington State and Wisconsin.

Methods: Survey data assessing marijuana attitudes, intentions, and use behavior were collected from 2011 to 2016 on a longitudinal cohort of 338 students at two large public universities in Washington and Wisconsin. Time series analyses were conducted to evaluate postlegalization changes in ever use, 28-day use, and mean attitude and intention-to-use scores in Washington state, using Wisconsin participants as the control group.

Results: Ever use, attitude, and intention-to-use scores did not change significantly more in Washington after legalization than in Wisconsin. However, among prior users, the proportion using in the last 28 days rose faster in Washington after legalization that it did in Wisconsin (p < .001).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that legalization had the greatest effects on current marijuana users, who are surrounded by a climate that is increasingly supportive of its use.

Keywords: College student; Longitudinal; Marijuana.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest:

No authors have conflicts of interest to report. The study sponsor had no role in (1) study design; (2) the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; (3) the writing of the report; and (4) the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Interview participants, May 2011 – September 2016
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Changes over time in use, attitude and intention towards marijuana
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schulenberg JE, Johnston LD, o’malley P, Bachman JG, Miech RA, Patrick ME. Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use 1975–2017; 2017. Volume II 2017 http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-vol2_2017.pdf.
    1. Berg CJ, Stratton E, Schauer GL, Lewis M, Wang Y, Windle M, et al. Perceived Harm, Addictiveness, and Social Acceptability of Tobacco Products and Marijuana Among Young Adults: Marijuana, Hookah, and Electronic Cigarettes Win. Subst Use Misuse. 2015;50:79–89. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ammerman S, Ryan S, Adelman WP, THE COMMITTEE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE, THE COMMITTEE ON ADOLESCENCE. The Impact of Marijuana Policies on Youth: Clinical, Research, and Legal Update. PEDIATRICS. 2015;135:e769–85. - PubMed
    1. Shollenbarger SG, Price J, Wieser J, Lisdahl K. Impact of cannabis use on prefrontal and parietal cortex gyrification and surface area in adolescents and emerging adults. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2015;16:46–53. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gogtay N, Giedd JN, Lusk L, Hayashi KM, Greenstein D, Vaituzis AC, et al. Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2004;101:8174–9. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types