TY - JOUR
T1 - Adolescent Marijuana Use, Marijuana-Related Perceptions, and Use of Other Substances Before and After Initiation of Retail Marijuana Sales in Colorado (2013–2015)
AU - Brooks-Russell, Ashley
AU - Ma, Ming
AU - Levinson, Arnold H.
AU - Kattari, Leo
AU - Kirchner, Tom
AU - Anderson Goodell, Erin M.
AU - Johnson, Renee M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding Data used for this study were collected under contracts with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE; Arnold H. Levinson and Ashley Brooks-Russell, principal investigators). This work was supported by several National Institutes of Health grants (K01DA031738l, Johnson; T32DA007292, Goodell).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Society for Prevention Research.
PY - 2019/2/15
Y1 - 2019/2/15
N2 - Due to the recentness of changes to marijuana policies in a number of states, the effect on adolescent use and perceptions is not yet well understood. This study examines change in adolescent marijuana use and related perceptions in Colorado, before and after the implementation of legal commercial sale of recreational marijuana for adults starting on January 1, 2014. The data are from a repeated cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of Colorado high school students, with separately drawn samples surveyed in fall 2013 (prior to implementation) and fall 2015 (18 months after implementation). We examined change in the prevalence of adolescent marijuana use, measured by lifetime use, past 30-day use, frequent use, and use on school property. To consider the possibility of heterogeneity in the change in marijuana use, we examined change in past 30-day marijuana use by demographic characteristics (sex, grade, race/ethnicity), school characteristics (poverty, percent minority), urbanicity of the school district, and whether the city or county permitted retail marijuana stores. There was an absence of significant effects for change in lifetime or past 30-day marijuana use. Among those reporting past 30-day use, frequent use and use on school property declined. There was a significant decline in the perceived harm associated with marijuana use, but we did not find a significant effect for perceived wrongfulness, perceived ease of access, or perceived parental disapproval. We did not find significant variability in past 30-day use by demographic characteristics or by school and community factors from 2013 to 2015. We did not find a significant effect associated with the introduction of legal sales of recreational marijuana to adults in Colorado on adolescent (illegal) use, but ongoing monitoring is warranted, including consideration of heterogeneity in the effects of marijuana policies.
AB - Due to the recentness of changes to marijuana policies in a number of states, the effect on adolescent use and perceptions is not yet well understood. This study examines change in adolescent marijuana use and related perceptions in Colorado, before and after the implementation of legal commercial sale of recreational marijuana for adults starting on January 1, 2014. The data are from a repeated cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of Colorado high school students, with separately drawn samples surveyed in fall 2013 (prior to implementation) and fall 2015 (18 months after implementation). We examined change in the prevalence of adolescent marijuana use, measured by lifetime use, past 30-day use, frequent use, and use on school property. To consider the possibility of heterogeneity in the change in marijuana use, we examined change in past 30-day marijuana use by demographic characteristics (sex, grade, race/ethnicity), school characteristics (poverty, percent minority), urbanicity of the school district, and whether the city or county permitted retail marijuana stores. There was an absence of significant effects for change in lifetime or past 30-day marijuana use. Among those reporting past 30-day use, frequent use and use on school property declined. There was a significant decline in the perceived harm associated with marijuana use, but we did not find a significant effect for perceived wrongfulness, perceived ease of access, or perceived parental disapproval. We did not find significant variability in past 30-day use by demographic characteristics or by school and community factors from 2013 to 2015. We did not find a significant effect associated with the introduction of legal sales of recreational marijuana to adults in Colorado on adolescent (illegal) use, but ongoing monitoring is warranted, including consideration of heterogeneity in the effects of marijuana policies.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Marijuana/cannabis
KW - Policy evaluation
KW - Risk behaviors
KW - Substance use
KW - Surveillance
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U2 - 10.1007/s11121-018-0933-2
DO - 10.1007/s11121-018-0933-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 30043198
AN - SCOPUS:85062839495
SN - 1389-4986
VL - 20
SP - 185
EP - 193
JO - Prevention Science
JF - Prevention Science
IS - 2
ER -