Medical Cannabis Laws Linked to Increase in Cannabis Use Disorders

MONDAY, Dec. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Medical cannabis laws (MCLs) are associated with increased cannabis use disorder (CUD) and cannabis poisoning, while recreational cannabis laws (RCLs) are associated with increased cannabis poisoning, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Jayani Jayawardhana, Ph.D., from the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and colleagues examined the associations between state-level cannabis laws and CUD and cannabis poisoning in a longitudinal study involving adults aged 18 to 64 years. State-level CUD and cannabis poisoning diagnoses from January 2011 to December 2021 were examined across all 50 states and the District of Columbia before and after implementation of MCLs and RCLs.

The study included 110,256,536 enrollees. The researchers observed significant increases in CUD and cannabis poisoning in association with MCLs by 31.09 and 0.76 diagnoses per 100,000 enrollees per quarter, respectively; in states with versus without RCLs, laws were associated with a significant increase in cannabis poisoning by 0.34 per 100,000 enrollees per quarter. There were no significant associations seen for opening a medical cannabis dispensary or for allowing home cultivation of medical cannabis. Compared with males and other ages groups, female enrollees and those aged 35 to 44 years had higher relative increases in CUD associated with MCLs.

“These increases may burden health care systems, emphasizing the need to couple cannabis laws with effective policy interventions and treatments for patients experiencing adverse health effects of cannabis,” the authors write.

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