Pre-Post Cannabis Legalization for Adult Use: A Trend Study of Two Cohorts of Young Adult Cannabis Users in Los Angeles

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ABSTRACT

Cannabis was legalized for adult use in California in 2016 for individuals 21 and older. Among 18–20-years-olds, who can possess cannabis legally as medical cannabis patients (MCP) but not as non-patient cannabis users (NPU), the impact of adult use legalization (AUL) on cannabis and other substance use is unknown. Two cohorts of 18–20-year-old cannabis users (MCP and NPU) were surveyed, one in 2014–15 (n = 172 “pre-AUL”) and another in 2019–20 (n = 139 “post-AUL”), using similar data collection methods in Los Angeles, California. Logistic and negative binomial regressions estimated cohort and MCP differences for cannabis and other drug use outcomes based on past 90-day use. In both pre- and post-AUL cohorts, MCP were more likely to self-report medical cannabis use (p < .001) while the post-AUL cohort reported greater use of edibles (p < .01), but fewer mean days of alcohol (p < .05) and cigarette (p < .01) use in multivariate models. Notably, frequency of cannabis use (days or hits per day) did not significantly differ between the pre- and post-AUL cohorts, except for greater use of edibles, despite potentially greater access to cannabis.