Study Finds Source of Reduced Alcohol and Tobacco Use Through Legalization of Cannabis

A new study published May 9 in the Journal of Adolescent Health shows evidence that cannabis legalization has reduced alcohol and cigarette consumption among adolescent consumers. The study, titled “Trends in Alcohol, Cigarette, E-Cigarette, and Nonprescribed Pain Reliever Use Among Young Adults in Washington State After Legalization of Nonmedical Cannabis,” includes analysis of six survey waves collected between 2014 and 2019 by The University of Washington reviewed data covering approximately 12,500 youth.

“The prevalence of alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking (HED) and cigarette use in the past month and the prevalence of abuse of painkillers in the past month have decreased, while the prevalence of e-cigarette use in the past month has increased since 2016 (the first year assessed). . ‘ researchers wrote of the findings. “Across years and age groups, the prevalence of non-cannabis use was higher among occasional and frequent cannabis users than among non-cannabis users.”

As the years went on and more and more states began working on legalization programs, many of these consumption habits began to decline over time. “However, the associations between occasional (1-19 days in the previous month) and frequent (20+ days) cannabis use and painkiller abuse, and between frequent cannabis use and HED, weakened over time in individuals aged 21-25 years.”

“Contrary to concerns about spillover effects, the introduction of legalized non-medical cannabis coincided with a decline in alcohol and cigarette use and painkiller abuse,” the researchers concluded.

However, it is generally recommended that further studies be conducted to better understand the impact of legalization on youth use. “The weaker association of cannabis use with use of other substances among those aged 21 to 25 years requires further research, but may indicate an increased importance of cannabis-specific prevention and treatment efforts,” the researchers wrote.

Many other studies have examined the impact of cannabis on young adults from a variety of perspectives. A study published earlier this week questioned TikTok’s positive portrayal of cannabis as a problem for teens who use the app frequently.

In March 2022, a policy paper released by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation (CPEAR) also analyzed youth cannabis use and also reported that youth cannabis use has not increased since legalization began. Findings contend that continued work to create a federal framework to curb youth cannabis use in the United States is essential and recommended focusing on eliminating access to illicit cannabis.

Another study was published in March 2021, with an analysis of 46 states and data collected between 1991-2015. “This study found no evidence of an increase in adolescents reporting past 30-day marijuana use or heavy marijuana use associated with state Medical Marijuana Law (MML) regulations or operating MML dispensaries between 1991 and 2015 ‘ the authors wrote in their summary.

Back in 2020, another study examined the impact of legalization and found that there was little impact on youth specifically in California. “Contrary to the claims of many legalization opponents, changes in states’ marijuana policies have not resulted in significant increases in cannabis use among young people,” said Paul Armentano, associate director of NORML, of the study. “Overall, most voters believe these adult-use guidelines are working as intended, which is why no state that has legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal or adult-use purposes has ever repealed its law.”

These studies date back to the earlier years of legalizing adult use, according to the Colorado Department of Health’s published findings in 2016, which told teens that four out of five high school students “say they don’t use marijuana, not even occasionally. ”

While these studies show that cannabis use among adolescents has not increased, the question remains as to how cannabis use affects the psyche of young adults. According to a 2016 study, some studies claim that cigarettes lower grades more than cannabis. However, in 2018 a study found evidence that children’s cognitive development may be impaired, followed by another study in 2019 that found no link between adolescent cannabis use and adult brain structure. Because of the conflicting information, more studies are needed to learn more about how cannabis affects adolescents.