Oregon legalized medical marijuana in 1998, and in 2015 it legalized recreational use, yet policymakers still know relatively little about the impact of the latter.
A recent study by Oregon State University researchers and others shows that cannabis use has increased among college-aged Americans in states that legalized recreational use.
“Some people would be surprised that we didn’t already know this,” said David Kerr, a psychology professor at Oregon State and the study’s lead researcher. “There have been a number of studies that have found increases in adults, but not in young adults. So this is new and important information.”
The researchers found that use among those in college only increased 1% after legalization, from 20% to 21%, while use among those not in college rose 5 percentage points, from 23% to 28%.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is based on 2008 to 2019 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which conducts an annual survey on drug and alcohol use across the country. The researchers looked at cannabis use for those 18 to 23 years old. They did not single out Oregon data or analyze the reasons behind the increased use.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allow recreational marijuana use, with Colorado and Washington state the first to do so in 2012. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana use, according to the National Conference of State…
