Medical marijuana laws and mental health in the United States.

Journal: Health economics, policy, and law

Volume: 

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 

Affiliated Institutions:  Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Faculty of Business and Economics, Center for Research in Economics and Well-Being (CREW), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract summary 

The consequences of legal access to medical marijuana for individuals' well-being are controversially assessed. We contribute to the discussion by evaluating the impact of the introduction of medical marijuana laws across US states on self-reported mental health considering different motives for cannabis consumption. Our analysis is based on BRFSS survey data from close to eight million respondents between 1993 and 2018 that we combine with information from the NSDUH to estimate individual consumption propensities. We find that eased access to marijuana through medical marijuana laws reduce the reported number of days with poor mental health for individuals with a high propensity to consume marijuana for medical purposes and for those individuals who likely suffer from frequent pain.

Authors & Co-authors:  Kalbfuss Odermatt Stutzer

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  3
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1017/S1744133124000033
SSN : 1744-134X
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
chronic pain;marijuana regulation;medical marijuana laws;mental health
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
England