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Abstract
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Cannabis legalization is gaining traction in the United States, with 24 states having legalized recreational cannabis sales and 38 states having legalized medical cannabis sales. A possible unintended consequence of such widespread legalization is the effect that such policy change will have on youth (adolescents and young adults), whose neurodevelopment may be disrupted by cannabis use. 1
Indeed, cannabis use in youth can lead to significant adverse psychosocial and health outcomes. 1
Specifically, a major concern is that youth cannabis use may increase in the setting of legalization due to greater availability and acceptability. This concern has prompted studies of youth cannabis use patterns in states which have legalized recreational cannabis (RCL), have legalized medical cannabis (MCL) and have legalized neither (NL). Prior publications have had limited post-legalization data due to recreational cannabis legalization occurring only very recently and in a small number of states. 2
The most recent meta-analysis exploring impacts of legalization on youth cannabis use only included studies with data from 2016 and prior (only four years since the first states legalized recreational cannabis). 2
Since then, seven states have adopted MCL and 15 states have adopted RCL, prompting the need for an updated review of the literature. Pawar et al.3
conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing associations between state-level cannabis laws and past-month cannabis use among U.S. youth using studies published up to 2023, providing a timely and important evaluation of the impacts of cannabis legalization on youth cannabis use. ...
Language: en |