Recreational Marijuana Laws and the Use of Opioids: Evidence from NSDUH Microdata

Mir M. Ali, Chandler McClellan, Ryan Mutter and Daniel Rees

No 29087, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Recent studies have concluded that state laws legalizing medical marijuana can reduce deaths from opioid overdoses. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a survey uniquely suited to assessing drug misuse, we examine the relationship between recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) and the use of opioids. Standard difference-in-differences (DD) regression estimates indicate that RMLs do not affect the likelihood of misusing prescription pain relievers such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin. Although DD regression estimates provide evidence that state laws legalizing recreational marijuana can reduce the frequency of misusing prescription pain relievers, event-study estimates are noisy and suggest that any effect on the frequency of misuse is likely transitory.

JEL-codes: I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-isf
Note: EH
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