US Cannabis Legalization 2015–2021: Implications for Cannabis Use and Availability Among Adolescents

• In Event: Drug Use in Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Abstract

As of January 2024, 37 states allow some form of cannabis possession. Of these, 15 states restricted possession to those with qualifying medical conditions, and 22 allowed adult-use. Some 13 states prohibit cannabis possession. Despite a general trend toward increased cannabis use among nearly all ages, adolescent usage remained relatively stable in medical-only states and decreased in adult-use states, perhaps because adolescents find it more difficult to obtain cannabis. However, there is a growing trend among those who do report past-year use to opt for an edible or vape, which are more discreet and potent than smoking. Therefore, I sought to address whether legal contexts promote or discourage the use of certain techniques (edible, vape). Using 2015-2021 nationally representative self-report data, collected by Monitoring the Future from 10,133 12th grade students, I generated frequencies, cross-tabulations, and z-tests for detecting significant differences. For availability, responses ranged from probably impossible to very easy, later aggregated into means for each county. Preliminary results suggest that respondents from counties in legal-cannabis contexts were more likely to use edibles or vape cannabis in the past year compared to those from prohibited states. However, legalization may deplete opportunities to acquire cannabis among adolescents.

Author

• Christian P. Maynard, Washington State University