Legalization Of Marijuana Use Research Articles

Marijuana use and associated motives in Colorado university students.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug among college students, with heavy use leading to negative outcomes. Use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes in select U.S. states has been controversial, with concerns surrounding increased prevalence rates and harm. The current exploratory study aimed to assess marijuana use in college students in Colorado, demographic differences in frequency of use, and motives for using. College students (N = 300; 61% female) were recruited through introductory psychology courses and completed a series of questionnaires and a marijuana urine screen. Almost three-fourths of the sample reported lifetime use of marijuana. Sixty-five percent used marijuana within the last year and 29% tested positive on the urine screen. Hurdle Poisson regression models with a subset of participants (n = 117) showed non-Greek and freshman status were associated with increased number of days participants used marijuana in the last month. Problem marijuana use was positively associated with a range of motives-of note-motives focused on coping, boredom, alcohol, and food. Prevalence rates of marijuana use were high in this sample of college students in a state with legal recreational marijuana use. Particular students (eg, students who use marijuana to cope) may be at higher risk for problem marijuana use. Developing effective, tailored interventions for university students is warranted. (Am J Addict 2017;26:830-837).

A latent class analysis of poly-marijuana use among young adults

IntroductionWith more states legalizing marijuana use, the marijuana industry has grown, introducing a variety of marijuana products. Our study explores the use of multiple marijuana products (poly-marijuana use) and the characteristics associated with this behavior. MethodsPast-month marijuana users aged 18–34years were surveyed online via an existing online panel (n=2444). Participants answered questions about past-month use of three types of marijuana (plant-based, concentrates, edibles), marijuana use patterns, and driving after use. Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of marijuana users. ResultsFour classes of marijuana users were identified: Light plant users, who used only plant-based products infrequently and were unlikely to drive after use (32%); Heavy plant users, who used mainly plant-based products frequently, multiple times per day, and were likely to drive after use (37%); Plant and concentrates users, who used plant-based products heavily and concentrates at least infrequently, used multiple times per day, and were likely to drive after use (20%); Light plant and edibles users, who used both products infrequently and were unlikely to drive after use (10%). Those in legal marijuana states were more likely to belong to the poly-marijuana groups. DiscussionOur findings reflect the increase in popularity of new marijuana products in legal states and suggest that heavy user groups, including concentrates users, are associated with driving after use. As various forms of marijuana use increases, monitoring and surveillance of the use of multiple types of marijuana will be important for determining potential varying impacts on physiological and social consequences.

Effects of the 2009 Medical Cannabinoid Legalization Policy on Hospital Use for Cannabinoid Dependency and Persistent Vomiting

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo stating that it would not prosecute users and sellers who complied with the state laws allowing for medical use of marijuana. There are growing concerns about legalization of marijuana use and its related public health effects. We performed an interrupted time series analysis to evaluate these effects. We collected a representative sample of hospital discharge data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, from January 1993 to December 2014. We divided the data in to 3 groups: the prelegalization period (1993-2008), the legalization period (2009), and the postlegalization period (2010-2014). The disease variables were International Classification of Disease-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification 304.30 cannabinoid dependency unspecified (CDU), 536.2 persistent vomiting, and an aggregate of CDU and persistent vomiting. We performed interrupted time series and Poisson-Gamma regression analysis to calculate each year's incidence rate of unspecified and persistent vomiting and CDU per 100,000 hospital discharges. CDU, persistent vomiting, and aggregate of CDU and persistent vomiting were modeled separately to estimate average incidence rate ratio and 95% confidence interval for each study phase. We observed an increasing trend of CDU or an aggregate of CDU and persistent vomiting during the prelegalization period. The legalization of marijuana significantly increased the incidence rate during the legalization period (by 17.9%) and the yearly average increase in rate by 6% after policy implementation, compared to the prelegalization period. The increase in rate of persistent vomiting after policy implementation increased significantly (by about 8%), although there were no significant trends in increase prior to or during marijuana legalization in2009. In an interrupted time series analysis of before, during, and after medical marijuana legalization, we estimated levels and rate changes in CDU and persistent vomiting. We found persistent increases in rates of CDU and persistent vomiting during and after legalization of marijuana.

How Medical Marijuana Smoothed the Transition to Marijuana Legalization in the United States.

Public support for legalizing marijuana use increased from 25% in 1995 to 60% in 2016, rising in lockstep with support for same-sex marriage. Between November 2012 and November 2016, voters in eight states passed ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana sales for nonmedical purposes-covering one-fifth of the US population. These changes are unprecedented but are not independent of the changes in medical marijuana laws that have occurred over the past 20 years. This article suggests five ways in which the passage and implementation of medical marijuana laws smoothed the transition to nonmedical legalization in the United States: (a) They demonstrated the efficacy of using voter initiatives to change marijuana supply laws, (b) enabled the psychological changes needed to destabilize the "war on drugs" policy stasis, (c) generated an evidence base that could be used to downplay concerns about nonmedical legalization, (d) created a visible and active marijuana industry, and (e) revealed that the federal government would allow state and local jurisdictions to generate tax revenue from marijuana.

Entrepreneurship and Legal Uncertainty: Unexpected Federal Trademarks for Marijuana Derivatives

Though several states have legalized marijuana use, the drug remains illegal under federal law. Not surprisingly, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refuses to register trademarks related to marijuana because of the federal prohibition. What is surprising, though, is the USPTO’s willingness to grant trademarks for cannabidiol (CBD) — a marijuana derivative that is likewise expressly illegal under federal drug laws. This article explains why the USPTO’s divergent treatment of trademark applications for CBD and marijuana products is legally incoherent. Additionally, when viewed from an entrepreneurial perspective, this phenomenon exemplifies how legal uncertainty breeds entrepreneurial opportunity. Specifically, the article argues that the evolving regulatory landscape for CBD and marijuana products has been, and continues to be, ripe for legal strategists and innovative entrepreneurs to combine forces to create competitive advantages in the emerging marijuana industry.

College student marijuana involvement: Perceptions, use, and consequences across 11 college campuses

BackgroundMarijuana is currently the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, and with the movement toward legalization of recreational marijuana, the country faces numerous issues regarding policy, prevention, and treatment of marijuana use. The present study examines the prevalence of marijuana use and consequences and compares users and non-users on a wide range of other marijuana-related constructs among college students across 11 universities. MethodParticipants included 8141 college students recruited from the psychology department participant pools of 11 universities throughout the US, including four major regions of the US (West, South, Midwest, Northeast) and states with varying policies regarding the legality of marijuana use. ResultsWe observed marijuana use rates similar to representative samples of young adults and college students (i.e., 53.3% lifetime marijuana users, 26.2% past month marijuana users). About 1 in 10 past month marijuana users experienced no consequences from their use, whereas nearly 1 in 10 experienced 19 or more consequences. Lifetime marijuana users had more positive perceptions of marijuana compared to non-users on a wide-range of marijuana-related constructs. ConclusionsWe report descriptive statistics on a wide range of marijuana-related variables. We hope that these data provide a useful baseline prior to increased legalization of recreational marijuana use. Multi-site studies like this one are needed to study the risky and protective factors for problematic marijuana use. These findings can inform interventions and public policy.

Factors driving the diffusion of medical marijuana legalisation in the United States

In the past 20 years, the drive to legalise medical marijuana (cannabis) has gained national attention with the public and policy makers. Beginning in 1996 states started implementing MMLs (medical marijuana laws), and by the end of 2015, 23 states and the District of Columbia had adopted laws legalizing marijuana use for medical purposes. We find that measures of policy diffusion and political culture are important drivers of adoption. However, the relative effects of positive pressure from neighbouring states and negative pressure from the ideological distance between adopting and non-adopting states is such that complete diffusion is unlikely.

Legalized marijuana use doesn't apply to student‐athletes

A former student‐athlete recently tweeted about the use of marijuana in college sports and how he had helped a teammate “beat” a substance abuse test.

Legalized marijuana use doesn't apply to college student‐athletes

A former student‐athlete recently tweeted about the use of marijuana in college sports and how he had helped a teammate “beat” a substance abuse test.

What Evidence Supports Marijuana Use for Medical Indications

More than 20 states have legalized marijuana use for various medical conditions. To explore the evidence for medical marijuana efficacy, researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 79 trials that involved 6462 patients. Four studies were judged to be at low risk of bias, whereas 55 studies were judged to be at high risk, mostly because of incomplete outcomes reporting. Although most studies were reported as double-blind, their blinding methods were …

Top of mind at APA meeting: Adherence, opioids, PTSD

The largest meeting for experts in psychiatric disorders, this month's 167th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) delivered information on several key issues related to managing patients with psychiatric disorders. Many important topics on the agenda are reviewed in this article: medication adherence (including how pharmacists can help), new antidepressants, opioid therapy, medical and recreational use of marijuana, management of posttraumatic stress disorder, and use of antipsychotics in vulnerable children.

The minimum legal drinking age and marijuana use: New estimates from the NLSY97

In volume 30, issue 4 of this journal Bariş Yörük and Ceren Yörük (Y&EY) used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97) and a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of the minimum legal drinking age on a variety of substances including marijuana. They obtained evidence that the probability of marijuana use increased sharply at the age of 21, consistent with the hypothesis that alcohol and marijuana are complements, but inadvertently conditioned on having used marijuana at least once since the last survey. Applying the Y&EY research design to all NLSY97 respondents ages 19 through 22, we find no evidence that alcohol and marijuana are complements.

Adolescent Marijuana Use from 2002 to 2008: Higher in States with Medical Marijuana Laws, Cause Still Unclear

Since 1996, 16 states have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes. The current study provides a scientific assessment of the association of medical marijuana laws (MML) and adolescent marijuana use using national data. State representative survey data on approximately 23,000 12-17 year olds were collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health annually from 2002-2008. Yearly state-specific estimates of prevalence of past-month marijuana use and perception of its riskiness were statistically tested for differences between states with and without MML by year and across years. States with MML had higher average adolescent marijuana use, 8.68% (95% CI: 7.95-9.42) and lower perception of riskiness, during the period 2002-2008 compared to states without MML, 6.94% (95% CI: 6.60-7.28%). In the eight states that passed MML since 2004, in the years prior to MML passage, there was already a higher prevalence of use and lower perceptions of risk in those states compared to states that have not passed MML. While the most likely of several possible explanations for higher adolescent marijuana use and lower perceptions of risk in MML states cannot be determined from the current study, results clearly suggest the need for more empirically-based research on this topic.

Americans' Attitudes toward Drug-Related Issues from 1975–2006: The Roles of Period and Cohort Effects

Despite the importance of the “war on drugs,” little research has examined Americans' attitudes toward drug-related issues. In particular, the extant literature has not considered period and cohort effects for views about drug control issues, although there are theoretical reasons to expect both to be important. In this paper the roles of period and cohort effects, net of individual-level predictors, for attitudes toward both governmental spending to address drug addiction and legalizing marijuana use were examined. Data from the General Social Surveys (1975 through 2006) were used. The logistic regression results showed variations in attitudes over time for both addiction spending and legalizing marijuana use. Cohort effects were also evident. The results suggest that a liberalization of attitudes, both over time and across cohorts, may be occurring, especially for the legalization of marijuana use.

North Americans' Attitudes Toward Illegal Drugs

Public opinion polls conducted from 1969 to 2003 found a variety of opinions on the use, possession, and legalization of marijuana. Public opinion about legalizing marijuana use is increasing, but it is also increasing toward harsher penalties for those who possess a small amount of marijuana. Public opinion regarding the legalization of illegal drugs appears to be influenced by the times. The majority of Americans increasingly believe that the country has made some progress in dealing with the problems of illegal drugs, but Americans are also reporting more difficulty within their families related to marijuana. This article examines trends based in public opinion polls on the use of marijuana in the United States and Canada and discusses the social and political history of marijuana and the biophysical effects, medical uses, definitions, and previous research related to marijuana.

Drug use among college females: socio-demographic and social psychological correlates.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether socio-demo-graphic and social psychological variables are related to college female drug use. A questionnaire was administered to 38 female drug users and 93 female nonusers. All the participants in this study were undergraduates at the University of Vermont. Of the 37 socio-demo-graphic and social psychological variables tested by the chi square technique, statistically significant differences between drug users and nonusers at the 0.01 level were found for 10 of the variables. Drug users and nonusers were differentiated according to attitudes toward legalization of marijuana use and marijuana use as an enhancer of creativity; present religious affiliation; similarity of own religious affiliation and that of each parent; extent and nature of religious interest; initiation into alcohol use; previous use of cigarettes; frequency of current cigarette smoking; and initiation into cigarette smoking.