Adults over the age of 25 increased their use of marijuana after their home states made changes to medical marijuana laws.

‘Adults over the age of 25 increased marijuana use after their home states made changes to medical marijuana laws. But, no difference in the prevalence of marijuana use was reported among teens.’

Adults over the age of 25 increased their use of marijuana after
their home states made changes to medical marijuana laws, suggested a
new research by scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of
Public Health. However, there was no difference in the prevalence of
marijuana use reported for 12 to 17 or 18 to 25 year-olds after the laws
passed. 




The findings are published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The study is the first to link state medical marijuana laws with marijuana availability and use among adults. Results were based on 10 years of annual survey data from respondents to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health.
"While the evidence had suggested there is a link between the passage of laws and increases in marijuana use by those 21 and older, it was not clear if all sub-groups of adults were influenced in the same way," said Silvia Martins, associate professor of Epidemiology. "Before medical marijuana laws changed there was a concern that this type of legislation could potentially increase recreational marijuana use in adolescents and adult populations. At least for now, we do not see an increase in use among adolescents."
The study found that adults 26 years and older increased their past-month use of marijuana from 5.87% to 7.15% after medical marijuana laws had passed in their state.
In addition to increasing marijuana use among those 26 years of age and older, the perceived availability of marijuana also increased after the laws were passed. And for all age groups, the perception that marijuana became easily available was higher in states that had passed medical marijuana laws by 2013.
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According to Dr. Martins, while not all states with medical marijuana laws have enforced patient registration, the number of patients registered in medical marijuana programs have increased over time in those states, particularly after 2009 when there were substantial changes in federal prosecution laws regarding marijuana cultivation, distribution, and possession.
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Source-Eurekalert