A new study found a link between medical cannabis laws and increased rates of cannabis use disorder and cannabis poisoning in the US. The research was published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Recent years have seen increasing implementation of both medical and recreational cannabis laws across the US. While cannabis legalization has been linked to more cases of cannabis use disorder and cannabis poisoning, it remains unclear how such laws affect rates of both conditions among adults with employer-sponsored health insurance.
In the current study, researchers explored how medical and recreational cannabis laws affect rates of cannabis use disorder and cannabis posing among adults with employer-sponsored health insurance.
To do so, they analyzed data from Merative MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database, which includes medical claims and encounters of a nationally representative and state-representative sample of over 110 million active employees. Enrollees had an average age of 41 years old, and the data analyzed was gathered between 2011 and 2021.
Ultimately, the researchers found that between 2011 and 2021, states that legalized medical cannabis experienced increases in cannabis use disorder and cannabis poisoning of 42.7% and 88.6%, respectively, in comparison to states without legalized medical cannabis.
Meanwhile, states with recreational cannabis laws experienced a 31.6% increase in poisoning between 2011 and 2021 compared to states without legalized recreational cannabis. The researchers found no associations for the opening of medical cannabis dispensaries and allowing home cultivation of medical cannabis.
They found, however, that relative increases in cannabis use disorder linked with medical cannabis laws were higher among female enrollees and among enrollees aged 35 to 44 years in comparison to male enrollees and other age groups.
“Communities with increased access to cannabis may experience increased health care use and costs due to increases in cannabis poisoning and CUD, and new clinical and policy interventions are needed to curb these rising diagnoses,” wrote the researchers in their study.
Sources: EurekAlert, JAMA Psychiatry
