Friday Fact

A systematic review and meta-analysis published this month in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that the legalization of recreational marijuana is associated with increases in past-month marijuana use among adolescents and young adults. As opposed to lifetime or past-year use, past-month use is indicative of more frequent use. […]

November 5, 2024, marked an historic night for the movement to oppose the legalization and commercialization of mind-altering substances. In the four states that voted on recreational drug use, all four rejected the industry-backed proposals, favoring policies that prioritize public health and safety.  In Florida, voters defeated Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana […]

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the nation’s premier survey that assesses the prevalence of substance use and substance use disorder. Though the NSDUH’s national estimates are often cited, it also provides state-level estimates that can shed light on the impact of the legalization of recreational marijuana. The prevalence of past-month marijuana use […]

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, from 2018 to 2023, the number of marijuana hospital-treated poisonings for children aged 4 and under increased by 733%:  On July 1, 2022, low-dose hemp edibles were legalized in Minnesota. On August 1, 2023, Minnesota then legalized marijuana. From 2022 to 2023, hospital visits among children aged 4 […]

On October 10, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a patient education page titled, “Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome.” Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is characterized by repeated nausea, vomiting, and severe stomach pain after using high doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) over an extended period of time––THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana that makes […]

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics on October 7 entitled, “Cannabis Use During Adolescence and Young Adulthood and Academic Achievement,” found that marijuana use is associated with:  The study was a meta-analysis of 63 studies that included more than 400,000 individuals. It concluded, “moderate-certainty evidence showed cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood is probably […]

A July 2024 report from the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) reported: “Following the medical marijuana legalization in 2016, North Dakota’s hospitals observed an increase in both emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to marijuana related events.” After legalizing medical marijuana, North Dakota saw a 336% increase in marijuana-related emergency department visits, rising […]

The Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federally-funded coalition of law enforcement agencies, warned, “following medical marijuana legalization in South Dakota, hospitals observed an increase in emergency department visits and hospitalizations for marijuana complications/poisonings.” Specifically, from 2020 to 2022, South Dakota saw a 53% increase in marijuana-related ED visits, a 57% increase in hospitalizations, […]

Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana in 2018, which has been associated with an increase in the number of marijuana-related exposure reports to the Oklahoma Poison Center. Oklahoma Watch reported, “In 2022, 583 cases of accidental marijuana consumption were reported to the Oklahoma Poison Center. Almost half involved a child under 6 and most involved edibles.” Citing […]

Recently, several studies have been released that highlight the physical risks of daily or frequent marijuana use. A study published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and featured on CNN showed that daily marijuana usage was linked to higher risks of certain cancers. Another study published in Atmospheric Environment: X and featured on Americans for Nonsmokers’ […]

The Monitoring the Future national survey results on substance use highlights the trend in the 30-day prevalence of daily marijuana use from 2013 to 2023:  From 2013 to 2023, there was a statistically significant increase in daily marijuana use for both age groups. The percentage that used marijuana daily for those aged 19-30 increased from […]

According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, from 2018 to 2023, the number of marijuana poison control calls for children aged 5 and under increased by 2,300%:  This trend is being exacerbated by the emergence of child-friendly products and packaging. The marijuana industry is developing products that appeal to adolescents, such as […]

A recent poll, conducted by Gallup, found that there has been a shift in public opinion regarding marijuana. The first asked the question, “What effect do you think the use of marijuana has on most people who use it – very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative or very negative?” Gallup focused on several demographic subgroups […]

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) dashboard reported the number of treatment admissions for various drugs, including marijuana, by race from 2015 to 2022. New York Treatment Admissions for Marijuana by Race (2015-2022):  According to the 2020 Census, New York’s racial makeup was 52.50% White, 19.50% Hispanic, 14.80% Black, 9.60% […]

The 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asked those who used marijuana about the ways in which they used it. While many readers likely know that the marijuana is often smoked, the NSDUH found that an alarming number of Americans also vape it.  Number of Past-Month & Past-Year Users Who Vaped Marijuana […]

This week, SAMHSA released the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is the leading federal estimate of trends in drug, tobacco, and alcohol use. While there are many data points that will likely appear in future versions of the Friday Fact, today’s edition focuses on the number of monthly users of […]

A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine, “Prenatal Cannabis Use and Maternal Pregnancy Outcomes,” assessed the degree to which prenatal marijuana use was associated with maternal health outcomes during pregnancy. The article used two types of sample groups for this study: pregnant women that used marijuana and pregnant women that did not use marijuana. Drawing […]

From 2016 to 2023, Florida’s Poison Control Centers collected poison exposure data throughout the state, reported on a county level. This report focuses on all types of marijuana poison exposures statewide and in Florida’s six most populous counties. The types of marijuana poison exposures included edibles, dried plants, concentrated extracts, synthetic marijuana, and other or unknown […]

The Minnesota 2022 Cannabis Report, from the International Cannabis Policy Study, led by the University of Waterloo, featured survey results from the Nielsen Consumer Insights Global Panel. In this survey, respondents aged 16 to 65 were asked about their marijuana-related behaviors and perceptions: Percentage of Marijuana Users in Minnesota Reporting Their Frequency of Marijuana Use in […]

The Illinois Poison Center reported on the number of unintentional exposures to marijuana edibles among young children from 2019 to 2023. Here’s what they found: Number of Marijuana Edible Exposures Among Young Illinois Children by Year  Illinois legalized the personal use of marijuana and commercialized it on January 1st, 2020. Following legalization, the number of […]

In the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s recently published a report, “2024 Cannabis Health Statistics Report,” relying on data from the Connecticut Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, conducted in 2017, 2021, and 2022. The Department examined the percentage of past-month marijuana users across different age groups in Connecticut:  Percentage of Past-Month Marijuana Users Among Age […]

The results of a survey of Canadians aged 16-65 who used marijuana in the last year were published in the study, “Adverse outcomes of cannabis use in Canada, before and after legalisation of non-medical cannabis: cross-sectional analysis of the International Cannabis Policy Study.” The survey aimed to find what percentage of these users experienced at […]

The 2022 Arizona Youth Survey State Report provided the percentage of Arizona’s 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who reported that they acquired marijuana from marijuana stores in 2018, 2020, and 2022.  In November 2010, Arizona legalized medical marijuana and on November 30th, 2020, Arizona legalized and commercialized marijuana. Between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of […]

A recent study “Changes in self-reported cannabis use in the United States from 1979 to 2022,” published in Addiction by Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University focuses on changes in the consumption patterns of marijuana. He compared these trends for marijuana to consumption patterns for alcohol. Caulkins found that daily or near-daily use […]