Does cannabis legalisation change healthcare utilisation? A population-based study using the healthcare cost and utilisation project in Colorado, USA.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess the effect of cannabis legalisation on health effects and healthcare utilisation in Colorado (CO), the first state to legalise recreational cannabis, when compared with two control states, New York (NY) and Oklahoma (OK).

Design

We used the 2010 to 2014 Healthcare Cost and Utilisation Project (HCUP) inpatient databases to compare changes in rates of healthcare utilisation and diagnoses in CO versus NY and OK.

Setting

Population-based, inpatient.

Participants

HCUP state-wide data comprising over 28 million individuals and over 16 million hospitalisations across three states.

Main outcome measures

We used International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Edition codes to assess changes in healthcare utilisation specific to various medical

SUBMITTER: Delling FN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6530411 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature