Religious Involvement and Marijuana Use for Medical and Non-medical Purposes

• In Event: 1580 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Religion, Health, and Well-being

Abstract

In this paper, we use data from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine the association between religious involvement and marijuana use for medical and non-medical purposes in U.S. adults (n = 42,313). We also consider whether the association between religious involvement and marijuana use varies according to personal health status. Our results show that adults who attend religious services more frequently and hold more salient religious beliefs tend to exhibit lower rates of medical and non-medical marijuana use. We also find that these “protective effects” are less pronounced for adults in poor health. Although our findings confirm previous studies of non-medical marijuana use, we are the first to examine the association between religious involvement and medical marijuana use. Our moderation analyses suggest that the morality and social control functions of religious involvement may be offset under the conditions of poor health.

Authors

• Amy M. Burdette, Florida State University

• Noah Stephen Webb, Florida State University

• Terrence D. Hill, University of Arizona

• Stacy Haynes, Mississippi State University

• Jason A. Ford, University of Central Florida