The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on the Labor Supply of Older Adults: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

Lauren Nicholas and Johanna Maclean

No 10489, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the effect of state medical marijuana laws on labor supply among older adults; the demographic group with the highest rates of many health conditions for which marijuana may be an effective treatment. We use the Health and Retirement Study to study this question and estimate differences-in-differences regression models. We find that passage of a state medical marijuana law leads to increases in labor supply among older adults. These effects should be considered as policymakers determine how best to regulate access to medical marijuana.

Keywords: medical marijuana; labor supply; older adults; regulation; medication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I18 J20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2017-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea, nep-law and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published in: Journal of policy analysis and management, 2019, 38 (2), 455-80.

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