Health

14 HE ALTH • Spring 2019 ational marijuana excise tax to youth substance use prevention. Colorado, Oregon, Washington results Researchers have been busy monitor- ing potential effects in the first states to open legal pot shops, tracking every- thing from crime rates to accident rates. So far, tests and studies don't appear to show definitive harms in the eyes of public health officials. In Colorado, the nation's first state to open recreational marijuana stores, the first legal pot shops opened in 2014. That's given a long head start toward monitoring health effects. A 2018 report from Colorado's Department of Public Health & Environment found significant increas- es in marijuana use among adults in the previous year. Marijuana use among adolescents was stable since 2005, and no changes were found in the rate of those who reported driving a vehicle within a few hours of using marijuana since the year pot shops opened. Tobacco use among adults fell slightly, and use among high school students remained consistent with national averages, the state found. More troubling, rates of women using marijuana while pregnant or breastfeeding rose, as did marijuana use inside homes with children. But the state warned available data couldn't answer questions about wheth- er use patterns changed as a result of legalization, or whether they would continue in coming years. Dr. Andrew Monte at the University of Colorado School of Medicine found emergency room visits for cannabis edi- bles have been 30 times higher than what would be expected if edibles were equally as toxic as inhaled cannabis. Last fall, a Colorado man blamed edi- bles for his mental state when he alleg- edly murdered his wife. In 2014, a man jumped off a roof to his death after eat- ing a cookie baked with marijuana. Those findings could lead to more discussion about whether edibles should be banned from retail environments, said Monte, a UMass Medical School graduate. Colorado State University psychology professors Brad Conner and Mark Prince have found high rates of out-of- state users traveling to get a legal high, and significant but temporary rates of reported first-time users. In Oregon, state reporting has shown increases in marijuana use among all age ranges, including those under 21, who aren't able to buy legally there. In 2016, a year after the first stores opened, one in six adults reported using marijuana in the past 30 days. Marijuana-related visits to emergency rooms doubled in a two-year period following the first shops opening. Elsewhere, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy is required by state law to study how the state's legal- ization affects public health and safety, cannabis use, the criminal justice sys- tem and other factors. The first pot shops opened in Washington just months after Colorado in 2014. The institute's most recent report in 2017 found no effect from legalization on cannabis abuse treatment admis- sions. Youth didn't report significantly easier time getting marijuana, and those who said they've used it actually fell. Binge drinking and cigarette smoking also fell slightly. Some of those results surprised Adam Darnell, a senior research associ- ate at the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Most were expecting youth marijuana use to increase, and marijuana convictions for those under 21, which fell considerably, caught observers off guard, he said. With so little marijuana research until now — federal funds for studies remain impossible — experts are look- ing forward to finding out more about cannabis' effects than ever before. "Research is really far behind, but we're starting to catch up," Conner said. "We're starting to have a lot more opportunity for research, and in that way, the effects of legalization are quite positive." Continued from Page 13 81 Hope Ave., Worcester, MA 01603, 508.983.6790, massccn.org Your Community Partner For MassHealth members, aged 3-64 with complex lifelong needs, MCCN works with your primary care team to coordinate care for your optimum health and wellbeing. Contact us at 508.983.6790 or info@massccn.org to ask about your eligibility, today! At the Curaleaf medical marijuana dispensary in Oxford, patients can buy cannabis in various forms. H

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