The research indicated that recreational cannabis laws led to a significant decrease in mental health treatment admissions.
A study published in the journal Health Economics examined the effects of cannabis legalization on mental health treatment (1). Citing the prevalence of mental health illness and increasing mental health diagnoses in the United States, the study, “The highs and the lows: Recreational marijuana laws and mental health treatment,” looked at data from ten states that had recent laws concerning cannabis for recreational uses (1). “This paper uses an event-study within a difference-in-differences framework to study the short-run impact of state RMLs [recreational marijuana laws] on admissions into mental health treatment facilities,” the introduction stated (1). It also stated that the current studies on cannabis and mental health have produced mixed results, and that other research has also indicated that adolescent and adult use increases after a state legalizes cannabis (1).
The author of the study, Alberto Ortega, PhD, assistant professor at Indiana University, concluded that in the early years after a state enacted a law legalizing recreational cannabis, the average number of mental health treatment admissions declined (1,2). “Once a state has an RML, there is a clear, immediate, statistically significant decrease in total admissions,” he explained in the Results section (1). “This estimate indicates that RMLs laws led to a roughly 37% decrease in total mental health treatment admissions or about 92 fewer admissions per 10,000 individuals in a state.”
“The findings are driven by white, Black, and Medicaid-funded admissions and are consistent for both male and female admissions,” Dr. Ortega also wrote (1). “The results are robust to alternative specifications and sensitivity analysis.”
Dr. Ortega added that the exact reasons behind a decrease in mental health admissions is still unclear (1). “Thus, the results should not be conflated with improved mental health,” Dr. Ortega cautioned (1). “Future research should examine whether this decrease is due to RMLs leading to facilities deterring treatment, improved mental health, substitution to self-medication, or other factors,” (1).
References
Ep 25: Cannabis Quality Differentiation Beyond Cannabinoid Content
February 28th 2025In this latest installment of Noid Knowledge we are joined by Julie Kowalski, a leading mind in analytical chemistry and cannabis testing. Julie has arranged a very compelling symposium for Pittcon entitled Cannabis Aroma: Advances and Challenges in Determining and Commercializing Cannabis Product Quality Attributes. It is taking place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, starting at 9:30 AM in room 209. The session features top notch speakers, including several previous guests of this show, and yours truly, discussing the next generation of quality assessment in cannabis.
Ep 24, Part III: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Kahn
December 26th 2024In the final part of this episode, Evan Friedmann and Yasha Kahn discuss the need for a national entity to centralize cannabis data collection, moving from snapshot data to continuous updates. They emphasize the importance of accurate lab data and adverse event tracking, suggesting QR codes on packaging to report issues. Yasha suggests harsher consequences for result manipulation and suggests collaboration between state departments and federal entities to support underfunded regulators. They also discuss the potential benefits of off-the-shelf testing and the importance of stability testing. Finally, Yasha shares his top three reading recommendations for the audience.