Age of First Marijuana Use and Its Impact on Education Attainment and Employment Status

• Author: Yessenia Castro,Hydeen K. Beverly,Ijeoma Opara
• Published date: 01 April 2019
• Date: 01 April 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0022042618823007
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042618823007

Journal of Drug Issues

2019, Vol. 49(2) 228 –237

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042618823007

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Article

Age of First Marijuana Use and Its

Impact on Education Attainment

and Employment Status

Hydeen K. Beverly1, Yessenia Castro1, and

Ijeoma Opara2

Abstract

With the increased prevalence of marijuana use among youth, the increase in state legalization,

and changing social norms in the United States, it is important to understand the long-term

impact of marijuana use initiation. This study examined whether age of first marijuana use is

associated with educational attainment and employment status. Data from 5,988 adults aged 26

to 49 years who participated in the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were used

in the current study. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the odds of graduating

from high school and being employed. Controlling for demographics, persons with late-early first

use had significantly higher odds of graduating from high school and being employed compared

with persons with early first use. Results underscore the importance of early prevention for

youth aged 15 and younger and have implications for intervention and policy development.

Keywords

first marijuana use, marijuana policy, adolescent substance use, marijuana legalization

Introduction

Substance use is a significant concern regarding the health and development of adolescents in the

United States (Wong, Zhou, Goebert, & Hishinuma, 2013). Marijuana is currently the second

most commonly used drug among youth (Cohn, Johnson, Rath, & Villanti, 2016; Kingery, Alford,

& Coggeshall, 1999). About 5.7% of all Americans have reported marijuana use in the past

month, with 18.7% of those being between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. Approximately 12%

of people 12 years of age or older reported past year use (Popovici, French, Pacula, Maclean, &

Antonaccio, 2014; Volkow, Baler, Compton, & Weiss, 2014). Among youth, 13% of eighth grad-

ers, 29% of 10th graders, and 36% of 12th graders report ever having used marijuana (Friese &

Grube, 2013). Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the

medical use of marijuana (Han, Compton, Blanco, & Jones, 2018; National Conference of State

1The University of Texas at Austin, USA

2Montclair State University, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Hydeen K. Beverly, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd.,

Austin, TX 78712, USA.

Email: hkbeverly@utexas.edu

823007JODXXX10.1177/0022042618823007Journal of Drug IssuesBeverly et al.

research-article2019