By: D. Mark Anderson, Daniel I. Rees, and Joseph J. Sabia | Posted on : Thu., 08.05.2013 | Posted in : American Journal of Public Health
Study shows a decline in suicide rates in states that have legalized medical marijuana.
D. Mark Anderson is with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Department of Economics, Montana State University, Bozeman. Daniel I. Rees is with the Department of Economics, University of Colorado Denver. Joseph J. Sabia is with the Department of Economics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
Correspondence should be sent to Daniel I. Rees, Department of Economics, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box 181, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364 (e-mail: daniel.rees@ucdenver.edu). Reprints can be ordered at https://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link.
Contributors
All authors contributed equally to the data collection effort, the analysis of the data, the interpretation of the results, and the writing of the article.
Objectives
All authors contributed equally to the data collection effort, the analysis of the data, the interpretation of the results, and the writing of the article.
We estimated the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides.
Methods. We obtained state-level suicide data from the National Vital Statistics System’s Mortality Detail Files for 1990–2007. We used regression analysis to examine the association between medical marijuana legalization and suicides per 100?000 population.
Results. After adjustment for economic conditions, state policies, and state-specific linear time trends, the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides was not statistically significant at the .05 level. However, legalization was associated with a 10.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]?=??17.1%, ?3.7%) and 9.4% (95% CI?=??16.1%, ?2.4%) reduction in the suicide rate of men aged 20 through 29 years and 30 through 39 years, respectively.
Estimates for females were less precise and sensitive to model specification.
Conclusions.
Suicides among men aged 20 through 39 years fell after medical marijuana legalization compared with those in states that did not legalize. The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young men is consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana can be used to cope with stressful life events.
The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young men is consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana can be used to cope with stressful life events.
However, this relationship may be explained by alcohol consumption. The mechanism through which legalizing medical marijuana reduces suicides among young men remains a topic for future study. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print January 16, 2014: e1–e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301612)
This article was originally published in www.ajph.aphapublications.org. the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) is dedicated to publication of original work in research, research methods, and program evaluation in the field of public health. We highly recommend them for further reading.
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