Marijuana remains a federally controlled substance, yet at least 19 individual states plus Washington D.C. have gone around federal law on their own to legalize the sale of recreational cannabis for a combined population of more than 141 million Americans. New states keep joining the recreational column every single year, and other states keep amending their existing statutes on a near-weekly basis to regulate cannabis without going as far as fully legalizing it. All the same, the national conversation on cannabis policy appears to be edging closer to a genuine tipping point.
A recent study points out that people use cannabis products at least 20% more often in states where marijuana is legal and recreational. This study was published last Thursday in the journal Addiction, and has gathered data from across the United States.
How Usage Rates Differ From State to State
Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational cannabis consumption back in 2014. Researchers have since focused heavily on finding statistically meaningful gaps between states that legalized and those that haven’t. The University of Minnesota, based in a state where marijuana remains legal only for medical purposes, ran a study comparing how often people in Colorado and Minnesota consumed cannabis. The data came from surveys administered through the Colorado Boulder Center for Antisocial Drug Dependence, in which 3,500 participants reported their usage between the years of 2018 and 2021. The results showed people in Colorado using cannabis products 24% more often than Minnesota – a striking gap given that recreational legal status is essentially the only difference between the two states.
The same study also tested identical twins living in states with different cannabis laws for statistical significance. This data was gathered from the Minnesota Center for Twin Family Research, which studied more than 100 sets of identical twins living in Colorado and Minnesota. Studying twins let researchers control for outside variables by isolating shared genes and family background. The results lined up with the Colorado Boulder Center findings: the twin living in Colorado used cannabis 20% more than their sibling in Minnesota.
Consumption Keeps Climbing
As recreational laws take into effect, more adults are known to have consumed marijuana. Research from the National Institutes from Health also suggests that knowing if cannabis consumption would increase with recreational laws can be found within any state. Beyond comparing two states, surveys taken from every state show that the legalization of cannabis would increase its use among consumers who already enjoy cannabis. Adults ranging from age 19 to 30 have increased their cannabis use from 34% to 43% in the past five years.
Rising Use Brings Rising Health Concerns
Proponents of recreational cannabis argue that the plant poses little health risk, but recent studies suggest cannabis users face notably higher odds of hospitalization or an ER visit. In one study in Canada, children under 10 faced a tremendous increase in cannabis poisoning hospitalizations due to the increased accessibility to edible cannabis products in the form of candy. Another study conducted by BMJ Open Respiratory Research suggest that people who use cannabis are 22% more likely to visit the emergency room commonly due to acute trauma, gastrointestinal issues, and respiratory problems.
The research didn’t establish whether these health issues were directly tied to cannabis use, though it stands to reason that prolonged, regular, or high-dose consumption could play a role. One such long-term condition is already documented: cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a rare gastrointestinal disorder that causes severe vomiting. It has only been diagnosed in patients with a long history of cannabis use, and what exactly within cannabis is causing these problems is still unknown.
The Case for More Cannabis Research
The numbers make clear that recreational cannabis use isn’t slowing down, but the evidence base for medical cannabis use still lags behind. Case studies of patients turning to cannabis for relief have opened the door to testing whether its benefits extend beyond the individuals already studied. More documented cases are needed to reinforce CBD and THC as considerable treatments for chronic pain, sleep loss, eating disorders, and Parkinson’s disease.
Federal Legalization Remains an Open Question
Even with mounting research and growing public support, and even accounting for the sheer number of people who now advocate for cannabis reform, national sentiment still hasn’t shifted enough to change federal law. Last April, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fully legalize cannabis at the federal level for the second time, only for it to be shot down once again in the Senate. Even so, federal legalization for cannabis remains within our horizon.
