Table 3.
Summary of Findings on Impact of Cannabis Policy on Alcohol Use Measures Among Studies Examining Adult Populations or All Ages
| Article | Data (Study Period) | Age Group | MJ Policy Measure | Alcohol Policy or Price Measure | Impact of MJ Policy on Alcohol Use Measure | Impact of MJ Policy on MJ Use Measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wen et al. (2015)48 | NSDUH (2004–2012) Individual | Age 21+ | MML | Beer tax | ↑ 30 d total alcohol drinks ↑ 30 d binge drinking days ↑ AUD in past year |
↑ 30 d MJ use ↑ 30 d daily/near-daily MJ use ↑ Days of MJ use ↑ First MJ use last year ↑ DSM-IV MJ use/dependence |
| MML provisions | Beer tax | Nonspecific pain provision: ↑ 30 d binge drinking days |
Nonspecific pain provision: ↑ 30 d MJ use ↑ Daily/near-daily MJ use |
|||
| Dragone et al. (2019)58 | NSDUH (2010–2014) Aggregated | Adult | RML | No | ↓ Alcohol use ↓ 30 d binge drinking |
↑ MJ use |
| Sabia et al. (2017)26 | BRFSS (1990–2012) | Age 25+ | MML | Alcohol tax Zero tolerance laws | ↓ 30 d any alcohol use, ages 25–34 ↓ 30 d any alcohol use, age 35+ ↓ Binge drinking, ages 25–34 ↓ Binge drinking, age 35+ |
None |
| Sabia & Nguyen (2018)57 | BRFSS (1990–2016) | Ages 30–39 Ages 40–49 Ages 50–64 |
MML | Beer tax | ↓ 30 d number of drinks, ages 30–39 ↓ 30 d number of drinks, ages 40–49 ↓ 30 d number of drinks, ages 50–64 |
None |
| Andreyeva & Ukert (2019)60 | BRFSS (1993–2013) | Age 18+ | MML | No | ↓ 30 d heavy drinking ↓ 30 d risky drinking ↓ 30 d binge drinking |
None |
| MML with active dispensaries | No | ↑ 30 d heavy drinking ↓ 30 d risky drinking ↓ 30 d binge drinking |
None | |||
| Fink et al. (2020)61 | NLAES (1991–1992), NESARC (2001–2002), NESARC-III (2012–2013) | Age 18+ | MML | No | NS: Driving under influence of alcohol | ↑ Driving under influence of MJ |
| Meinhofer et al. (2019)62 | TEDS (2002–2014) | Ages 12–49 | MML | Beer tax | ↑ Tx admissions of pregnant women involving alcohol ↑ Tx admissions of nonpregnant women involving alcohol |
↑ Tx admissions of pregnant women involving MJ ↑ Tx admissions of nonpregnant women involving MJ |
| Conyers & Ayres (2020)64 | Hospital discharge data (2010–2016) Arizona only | All ages | MML | No | ↑ ED visits for ICD-9 alcohol abuse and poisoning | ↑ ED visits for ICD-9 MJ abuse and poisoning |
| Delling et al. (2019)63 | Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (2010–2014) | All ages | RML | No | ↑ Admissions for ICD-9 alcohol abuse | ↑ Admissions for ICD-9 MJ abuse |
| Baggio et al. (2020)27 | Nielsen retail scanner data (2006–2015) | Age 21+ | MML | Beer tax | ↓ Alcohol sales | None |
| Veligati et al. (2020)68 | Per capita sales (1990–2016) | All ages | MML | Beer tax Legal BAC limit of 0.08 | ↓ Per capita alcohol sales | None |
| RML | Beer tax Legal BAC limit of 0.08 | ↑ Per capita alcohol sales | None | |||
| Cook et al. (2020)53 | FARS (2010–2017) | Ages 25–44 | Decrim | Beer tax ALR | ↓ MVCs with BAC ≥ 0.08% | None |
| MML | Beer tax ALR | ↓ MVCs with BAC ≥ 0.08% | None | |||
| Steinemann et al. (2018)69 | FARS (1993–2015) | All ages | MML | No | NS: Positive for alcohol among fatally injured drivers tested NS: Positive for alcohol among all fatally injured drivers |
↑ Positive for MJ among fatally injured drivers tested ↑ Positive for MJ among all fatally injured drivers |
| Hansen et al. (2020)28 | FARS (2000–2016) | Age 16+ | RML | No | NS: Fraction of fatal accidents with 1+ alcohol-positive driver NS: Total alcohol-related fatalities per 1 billion VMT |
NS: Fraction of fatal accidents with 1+ MJ-positive driver NS: Total MJ-related fatalities per 1 billion VMT |
Bold text indicates finding statistically significant at alpha = 0.05 for a two-tailed test.
Note: ALR, administrative license revocation; AUD, alcohol use disorder; BAC, blood alcohol concentration; BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Decrim, decriminalization; DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; ED, emergency department; FARS, Fatality Analysis Reporting System; ICD-9, International Classification of Diseases: Ninth Revision; MJ, marijuana; MML, medical marijuana law; MVCs, motor vehicle crashes; NESARC, National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions; NLAES, National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey; NS, nonsignificant; NSDUH, National Survey on Drug Use and Health; RML, recreational marijuana law; TEDS, Treatment Episode Data Set; Tx, treatment; VMT, vehicle miles traveled; YRBSS, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.