Excessive use of modern high-potency cannabis can prove incapacitating, both in the long and short terms. Recently, a study with a large sample size highlighted the abrupt rise in reported cases of Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and cannabis poisoning in states that have legalized both medical and recreational cannabis use.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, examined the medical records of 110,256,536 individuals enrolled in employer-sponsored insurance plans from 2011-2021. Enrollees lived in all 50 states of the U.S.and the District of Columbia. The sample consisted of 48% men and 52% women of ages ranging from 18-64 years.
In states with medical cannabis laws, CUD frequency has increased by 47.2% since legalization, while cases of cannabis poisoning have increased by 88.6%, both as opposed to states without medical cannabis laws. Meanwhile, states allowing recreational cannabis use, as opposed to those that do not, have a rate of cannabis poisoning ranking 31.6% higher.
Cannabis legalization, the researchers conclude, might therefore cause communities to experience higher health care use and costs due to the increases in cannabis-related illnesses. They recommend “new clinical and policy interventions“ to decrease these heightened frequencies.
Click here to learn more about this study and its results.