In October 2019, the sale of cannabis edibles and extracts was legalized across Canada, with the exception of Quebec. While Quebec banned the sale of ‘youth-friendly’ cannabis edibles and vaping products to protect children and young people from accidental poisoning and to reduce normalization of cannabis use, the products are legal in other provinces. ‘Youth-friendly’ edibles include cannabis chocolates, candies, and desserts.
In the current study, researchers investigated changes in adolescent cannabis use and harm perception linked to the legalization of such ‘youth-friendly’ products. To do so, they analyzed data from 106, 032 students in grades 7 to 11 who participated in the nationally representative Canadian Student Tobacco Alcohol and Drugs Surveys in 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.
Primary outcomes included cannabis use in the last 12 months, past 12-month use of edible cannabis, cannabis smoking, cannabis vaping, and co-use of alcohol and cannabis. Secondary outcomes included harm perception from occasional regular cannabis use.
Ultimately, the researchers found that legalization was linked to a 26% increase in past 12-month cannabis use and a 43% increase in the use of cannabis edibles in adolescents. Cannabis smoking increased by 34%, and co-use with alcohol increased by 28%. No statistically significant change was observed for cannabis vaping. Legalization was also linked to a lower perception of harm from occasional cannabis use.
“The increase in adolescents’ cannabis use associated with the legalization highlights the need for stricter policy measures to curb adolescents’ access to cannabis edibles and extracts and greater awareness among adolescents about harms of cannabis use,” wrote the researchers in their study.
Sources: EurekAlert, JAMA Network Open
