Marijuana Legalization and Mental Health

Daniel Borbely, Otto Lenhart (), Jonathan Norris () and Agnese Romiti ()
Additional contact information
Otto Lenhart: Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde
Jonathan Norris: Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde
Agnese Romiti: Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde

No 2302, Working Papers from University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics

Abstract: This study examines the effects of marijuana legalization on mental health. We use a difference-in-differences approach that leverages the staggered implementation of both medical and recreational marijuana legislation across U.S. states. We find that marijuana laws have a positive effect on marijuana use but have no effect on mental health overall. Nonetheless, null aggregate effects mask sharp heterogeneities across the age distribution. We show that elderly individuals, especially those with pre-existing health conditions, benefit from medical marijuana legalization in terms of better mental health, whereas legalizing recreational marijuana produces the opposite effect for younger individuals, especially if relatively healthy.

Keywords: marijuana legalization; recreational marijuana; medical marijuana; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I18 K32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: pages
Date: 2023-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-law
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Working Paper: Marijuana Legalization and Mental Health (2022)
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