Working Paper: NBER ID: w20332
Authors: D. Mark Anderson; Benjamin Hansen; Daniel I. Rees
Abstract: While at least a dozen state legislatures in the United States have recently considered bills to allow the consumption of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the federal government is intensifying its efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries. Federal officials contend that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages teenagers to use marijuana and have targeted dispensaries operating within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds. Using data from the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and the Treatment Episode Data Set, we estimate the relationship between medical marijuana laws and marijuana use. Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that legalization leads to increased use of marijuana by teenagers.
Keywords: medical marijuana; teen marijuana use; legalization; substance use
JEL Codes: D78; I1; K4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) (I18) | Increased marijuana consumption among youth (J13) |
| Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) (I18) | Marijuana use among high school students (I21) |
| Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) (I18) | Probability of marijuana use in the past 30 days (C12) |
| Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) (I18) | Frequent marijuana use (I12) |