Maternal age and trajectories of marijuana use over 17 years

Abstract

hospital discharges. Linear regression was used to evaluate applications for medical marijuana over time. The application analysis was followed with an analysis exploring population growth as a confounder. Autocorrelation was evaluated and an AR1 structure was used as necessary. Finally, the association between monthly medical marijuana applications and monthly discharges coded as dependence was tested with linear regression to explore an ecologic dose response relationship. Results: From 2009 to 2013, both applications and discharges increased, where 4205 (p<0.001) additional applications were received per month, and a 0.9% (p<0.001) increase in population rate per month was detected in hospital discharges. This was not confounded by population growth. The association between applications and discharges was significant (p<0.001) but modest with only 1 discharge per 3159 applicants. Conclusions: Although statistically significant increases were detected over time, the relation between applications and discharges was small in the time period preceding the legalization of recreational sales. Other states considering the legalization of medical marijuana can use this report to assist in the evaluation of public health related outcomes of policy change. Financial support: NIH/NIDA, 5R01DA031816-04, The Impact of Medical Marijuana in Metropolitan Denver.