Is Medical Marijuana Legalization Associated With Prescription Drug Misuse, Illicit Drug Use, or Combination of Both Among Adults in the United States?

• Author: Ching-Ti Liu,Yen-Chang Chang,Yen-Han Lee,Stephan Arndt
• Published date: 01 October 2020
• Date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042620942152
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042620942152

Journal of Drug Issues

2020, Vol. 50(4) 566 –578

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042620942152

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Article

Is Medical Marijuana Legalization

Associated With Prescription

Drug Misuse, Illicit Drug Use,

or Combination of Both Among

Adults in the United States?

Yen-Han Lee1, Yen-Chang Chang2, Ching-Ti Liu3,

and Stephan Arndt4

Abstract

This research focuses on associations of medical marijuana legalization with prescription drug

misuse, illicit drug use, and a combination of both behaviors. Using three waves of the National

Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, 2016–2018), adult participants (age ≥ 18) were

selected for the final study sample (n = 127,438). Multinomial logistic regression was adjusted

for biological, socioeconomic, and substance use measurements. Results from multinomial

regression demonstrated that medical marijuana legalization was positively associated with

illicit drug use (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.17, 1.51];

p < .01) and both prescription drug misuse and illicit drug use (RRR = 1.14, 95% CI = [1.05,

1.25]; p < .01) among U.S. adults. It is recommended to design policy interventions to counter

illicit drug use and a combination of both prescription drug misuse and illicit drug use as the

result of medical marijuana legalization.

Keywords

medical marijuana legalization, prescription drug misuse, illicit drug use, polysubstance use,

adults, survey-based research

Introduction

Background

Medical marijuana legalization has been a highly debatable topic in the United States in the past

few decades. With the growing acceptance of marijuana use nationwide, more and more states

have moved to legalize medical marijuana. The increasing acceptance of marijuana use can be

1Indiana University, Bloomington, USA

2National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

3Boston University, MA, USA

4University of Iowa, IA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Yen-Han Lee, Department of Applied Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Indiana University, 1025 E. 7th St

#111, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

Email: yil5050@bu.edu

942152JODXXX10.1177/0022042620942152Journal of Drug IssuesLee et al.

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