Study: Cannabis use expected to increase in CT after legalization
A newly published study suggests that cannabis use will increase as Connecticut gets closer to retail cannabis sales for recreational purposes in the coming months.
The study, due out in the September issue of the journal “Drug and Alcohol Dependence,” showed that “cannabis use was more common in states with recreational cannabis laws.”
Though the study focused on the period of time between 2004 and 2017, lead study author Renee Goodwin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University and at the City University of New York, said the same will be true for Connecticut.
“It seems as if that would be a logical and safe assumption, based on available data,” she said.
Goodwin argues that while there have been limits placed on how much cannabis can be sold to any one customer, there has not been much education in the states where cannabis is legal on how much a consumer should use, and the effects of that use.
“U.S. states are rapidly passing legislation, yet what should be requisite public education on how cannabis can be used safely has not accompanied these changes,” Goodwin said. “For instance, retail licenses are being issued and it is expected that recreational retail outlets will open within the year in New York State, yet New York has not provided evidence-based
guidance outlining safe cannabis use practices or informing the public of potential health risks associated with various levels of cannabis use.”
One problem, Goodwin said, has been a dearth of academic studies on potential health risks.
“While I am suggesting providing people with education so they can use safely for themselves and others around them, I do not see any information provided possibly because no one has had the time,
opportunity or funding to study this as historically it was not a very hot topic of interest in the field,” she said.
Though there have been numerous studies on the effects of prolonged alcohol use and accompanying guidelines following that work, “I am not aware that anything of that nature exists for cannabis,” Goodwin said. “It seems as if this information would be helpful to consumers and in protecting them and society from potential risks, even simply driving while under the influence.”
Connecticut legalized recreational use of cannabis in July of last year, and has been slowly moving toward legal cultivation and retail sales. The state this month recommended licenses for the first 16 legal growers.
But Connecticut borders Massachusetts, where recreational cannabis has been legal for years. Goodwin said she expects the increase in use to not be as pronounced in municipalities that border others where cannabis use is already legal, but that the perception of risk may be less as well.
“Relative to 2017 when our recent study period ended, the wave of legalization across the U.S. has been so rapid and widespread that indeed, residing in a neighboring state will impact use, but also the overall perception of risk associated
with cannabis use (to the extent that this is a barrier) has or is being rapidly altered via the perception that legalization connotes the substance is risk-free,” she said.
Goodwin’s study also found that cannabis use is very high among people who smoke cigarettes, including young adolescents.
Among children aged 12 to 17 who smoke cigarettes, 73 percent had used cannabis in the past month and 30 percent had used cannabis daily. This is concerning both because of risks associated with cannabis use but also use of tobacco.
“Cannabis use is increasingly common among those who also smoke cigarettes, using both is more harmful to health than one or the other (e.g., risk of certain cancers),” Goodwin said. “People may not be aware of this.”
And use of cannabis can, she said, make tobacco use more likely and more difficult to stop.
“In prior studies we have found that cannabis use is associated with increased odds of initiating cigarette use, persistent cigarette use among those who smoke (lower quit rates) and relapse to cigarette use among former smokers,” Goodwin said. “So, the overall question is whether increased cannabis use may affect the broader mission of tobacco control and reducing cigarette use. We just do not know.”