Health Affairs July 1, 2021
Evidence regarding the effects of recreational cannabis legalization on public health is inconsistent. Future research should assess heterogeneous policy design, differential effects on population subgroups, and effects related to characteristics of legal cannabis supply.
KEY POINTS:
- Research suggests that cannabis use is associated with potential therapeutic benefits but also individual health harms, particularly for adolescent populations.
- Evidence is inconsistent and, in some cases, inconclusive regarding how recreational cannabis legalization affects outcomes significant to public health, including cannabis use, cannabis use disorder, cannabis-related hospitalizations and poisonings, driving safety, and other substance use.
- Researchers can improve on existing evidence by targeting understudied areas, including features of legal cannabis markets, heterogeneous policy effects across populations, and characteristics of cannabis supply such as...
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