Association of State Recreational Marijuana Laws With Adolescent Marijuana Use.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Historical shifts are occurring in marijuana policy. The effect of legalizing marijuana for recreational use on rates of adolescent marijuana use is a topic of considerable debate.

Objective

To examine the association between the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington and Colorado in 2012 and the subsequent perceived harmfulness and use of marijuana by adolescents.

Design, setting, and participants

We used data of 253 902 students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grades from 2010 to 2015 from Monitoring the Future, a national, annual, cross-sectional survey of students in secondary schools in the contiguous United States. Difference-in-difference estimates compared changes in perceived harmfulness of marijuana use and in past-month marijuana use

SUBMITTER: Cerda M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5365078 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature