Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Email: jmackill mcmaster. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4. Recreational cannabis legalization has become more prevalent over the past decade, increasing the need to understand its impact on downstream health-related outcomes.
Although prior reviews have broadly summarized research on cannabis liberalization policies including decriminalization and medical legalization , directed efforts are needed to synthesize the more recent research that focuses on recreational cannabis legalization specifically. Thus, the current review summarizes existing studies using longitudinal designs to evaluate impacts of recreational cannabis legalization on cannabis use and related outcomes.
A comprehensive bibliographic search strategy revealed 61 studies published from to that met criteria for inclusion.
The studies were predominantly from the United States Five main categories of outcomes were identified through the review: cannabis and other substance use, attitudes toward cannabis, health-care utilization, driving-related outcomes, and crime-related outcomes. The extant literature revealed mixed findings, including some evidence of negative consequences of legalization such as increased young adult use, cannabis-related healthcare visits, and impaired driving and some evidence for minimal impacts such as little change in adolescent cannabis use rates, substance use rates, and mixed evidence for changes in cannabis-related attitudes.
(mh=jT8dJILKXfgllRNC)0.jpg "SEX ESCORT in Denver")
Overall, the existing literature reveals a number of negative consequences of legalization, although the findings are mixed and generally do not suggest large magnitude short-term impacts. The review highlights the need for more systematic investigation, particularly across a greater diversity of geographic regions.
