Marijuana Legalization and Mental Health

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

No 15729, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study examines the effects of U.S. state-level marijuana policies on mental health. Using data from three nationally representative data sets and estimating difference-in-differences models that account for the staggered implementation of both medical and recreational marijuana legislation, we evaluate the impact on marijuana use as well as two measures of mental distress. We show that marijuana laws have positive effects on marijuana use, but find no evidence for any effect on mental health on average. Nonetheless, null aggregate effects mask sharp heterogeneities across the age distribution. Our findings show that elderly individuals (age 60 and older) benefit from medical marijuana legalization in terms of better mental health, whereas legalizing recreational marijuana produces negative mental health effects for younger individuals (below age 35). The effects of medical marijuana legislation are driven by elderly people with pre-existing chronic health conditions, whereas those of recreational marijuana legislation are driven by younger and relatively healthy individuals. Furthermore, results are stronger for women than for men.

Keywords: medical marijuana; recreational marijuana; marijuana legalization; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I18 K32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 56 pages
Date: 2022-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Marijuana Legalization and Mental Health (2023)
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