Trends in Cannabis-Related Attitudes and Behaviors among Cannabis-Using Adolescent and Young Adult Outpatients following Medical Cannabis Legalization in Massachusetts

Abstract

Background: Among youth already using cannabis, legalization of medical cannabis may influence cannabis-related attitudes and behaviors, including increasing access through use of someone else's medical cannabis (diversion). Objective: To examine cannabis-related attitudes and behaviors (including diverted cannabis use) in cannabis-using youth in the four years following medical cannabis legalization. Additionally, we investigated characteristics of youth who used vs. did not use diverted medical cannabis. Methods: Data were collected in Boston from 2013 (when medical cannabis legislation took effect in Massachusetts) through 2016 (when recreational cannabis use became legal in Massachusetts). Cannabis-using youth (age 13-24) presenting to an outpatient adolescent substance use treatment program (ASUTP) or recruited for an adolescent medicine clinic study (AMCS) completed a confidential survey on demographic characteristics and cannabis use behaviors and attitudes. We used multiple logistic regression to analyze changes in attitudes and behaviors over three years versus the reference year (2013), controlling for demographics. We used chi-square to compare characteristics of youth reporting use of diverted medical cannabis versus those not. Results: The sample included 273 cannabis-using youth (ASUTP n ¼

Incidence of inpatient cases with mental disorders due to use of cannabinoids in Germany: a nationwide evaluation

“…There is, however, some evidence suggesting that medical marijuana legislation and legalization of recreational cannabis use in several states of the USA has increased the use of cannabis (and emergencies related to the use of cannabis 31 ) and may increase the prevalence of cannabinoid use disorders. 23 , 32 Therefore, the possibility to prescribe cannabinoids under certain conditions at the expense of the statutory health insurances in Germany as of March 2017 22 and the long-standing political debates in Germany about legalization/decriminalization of recreational cannabis use may have affected the attitude of the general population towards the use of cannabinoids and indirectly increased the use of cannabinoids in Germany. Secondly, synthetic cannabinoids and illicit cannabinoid preparations derived from special breedings and/or genetically engineered Cannabis sativa plants with higher and occasionally extremely high content of THC are increasingly used in Germany in the last decades.…”

“… 16–21 Moreover, the respective legal frameworks have changed significantly (e.g. approval of medical cannabis 22 and legalization of cannabinoid use 19 , 23 ). In addition, potentially more harmful cannabinoid preparations (e.g.…”

Public perceptions of medical cannabis diversion: A legal and moral dilemma

“…Although the study focused on Israeli law and the perceptions of the Israeli public, it is relevant to many other countries. The review of the literature shows that medical cannabis is diverted in many countries, including the US (Nussbaum et al, 2015; O’Connell et al, 2022) and South America countries (Fairman, 2016). However, the external validity of the study is limited, since its findings cannot be generalized to countries where the use of cannabis has been legalized or where medical cannabis is not authorized.…”

“…O’Connell et al (2022) found that in 2016, 44% of cannabis-using youths (age 13–24) in Boston reported using diverted medical cannabis, compаred to 14.9% in 2013. Tandowski et al (2019) found that of 1387 people that use cannabis in Israel, 70% reported using diverted medical cannabis at least once in their lifetime, but only 30% reported using 6 times or more.…”