The effect of medical marijuana laws on adolescent and adult use of marijuana, alcohol, and other substances

•We examine the medical marijuana laws (MMLs) in ten states between 2004 and 2012.•We estimate the policy effect on the use of marijuana, alcohol, and other substances.•MMLs increase marijuana use and binge drinking in adults aged 21 or above.•MMLs increase marijuana use initiation in adolescents an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health economics 2015-07, Vol.42, p.64-80
Main Authors: Wen, Hefei, Hockenberry, Jason M., Cummings, Janet R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Adults
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcohol use
Alcohols
Child
Drinking
Drug abuse
Drug legalization
Economics
Estimates
Female
Health administration
Humans
Liquor laws & regulations
Male
Marijuana
Marijuana Smoking - epidemiology
Marijuana Smoking - legislation & jurisprudence
Marijuana use
Medical
Medical marijuana
Medical marijuana law
Natural experiment
Self Report
State laws
Studies
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:•We examine the medical marijuana laws (MMLs) in ten states between 2004 and 2012.•We estimate the policy effect on the use of marijuana, alcohol, and other substances.•MMLs increase marijuana use and binge drinking in adults aged 21 or above.•MMLs increase marijuana use initiation in adolescents and young adults aged 12–20.•MMLs have no discernible effect on underage drinking or other substance use. We estimate the effect of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) in ten states between 2004 and 2012 on adolescent and adult use of marijuana, alcohol, and other psychoactive substances. We find increases in the probability of current marijuana use, regular marijuana use and marijuana abuse/dependence among those aged 21 or above. We also find an increase in marijuana use initiation among those aged 12–20. For those aged 21 or above, MMLs further increase the frequency of binge drinking. MMLs have no discernible impact on drinking behavior for those aged 12–20, or the use of other psychoactive substances in either age group.
ISSN:0167-6296
1879-1646
DOI:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2015.03.007