A reexamination of medical marijuana policies in relation to suicide risk.
- Authors
- Grucza, Richard A; Hur, Michael; Agrawal, Arpana; Krauss, Melissa J; Plunk, Andrew D; Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A; Chaloupka, Frank J; Bierut, Laura J
- Year
- 2015
- Journal
- Drug and alcohol dependence
- PMID
- 25979644
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.04.014
- PMCID
- PMC4459507
OBJECTIVES: Previous research has suggested that medical marijuana policies lead to reductions in suicide rates. In this study, we further investigate the association between these policies and within-state changes in suicide risk. METHODS: Data on suicide deaths (n=662,993) from the National Vital Statistics System Multiple Cause of Death files were combined with living population data. Fixed-effects regression methods were employed to control for state differences in suicide rates and national and state secular trends. Analyses extended prior research that suggested a protective effect of medical marijuana policies by incorporating newer data and additional covariates. RESULTS: After adjustment for race/ethnicity, tobacco control policies, and other covariates, we found no association between medical marijuana policy and suicide risk in the population ages 15 and older (OR=1.000; 95% CI: 0.956, 1.045; p=0.98), among men overall (OR=0.996; 95% CI: 0.951, 1.043; p=0.87) or for any other age-by-sex groups. CONCLUSION: We find no statistically significant association between medical marijuana policy and suicide risk. These results contradict prior analyses which did not control for race/ethnicity and certain state characteristics such as tobacco control policies. Failure to control for these factors in future analyses would likely bias estimates of the associations between medical marijuana policy and health outcomes.
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| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| 1990 Census local | cohort |
| 2000 census | cohort |
| 20–29 year age group local | cohort |
| 30–39 year age group local | cohort |
| age | phenotype |
| alcohol | phenotype |
| Alcohol Use | phenotype |
| American Community Survey | cohort |
| Anderson et al., 2014 local | cohort |
| Arizona local | cohort |
| beer | drug |
| cannabis use | phenotype |
| Census data set local | cohort |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013 local | cohort |
| cigarettes | phenotype |
| Crosby et al., 2011 local | cohort |
| District of Columbia local | cohort |
| education | phenotype |
| educational attainment | phenotype |
| Grucza et al., 2014 local | cohort |
| Health insurance coverage local | cohort |
| ICD-10 suicide codes local | phenotype |
| ICD-9 suicide codes local | phenotype |
| Individual death records local | cohort |
| Integrated Public Use Microdata Series local | cohort |
| International Classification of Disease local | cohort |
| marijuana | phenotype |
| Marijuana Decriminalization Policy local | drug |
| medical marijuana local | drug |
| Medical marijuana local | drug |
| medical marijuana legalization local | drug |
| Medical marijuana legalization local | drug |
| medical marijuana policies local | drug |
| medical marijuana policy local | drug |
| Medical marijuana policy local | cohort |
| Medical marijuana policy local | drug |
| Medical Marijuana Policy local | drug |
| medical marijuana states local | cohort |
| Medical marijuana states local | cohort |
| men | cohort |
| men over 60 local | cohort |
| mental health spending local | drug |
| Michigan local | cohort |
| Multiple Cause of Death files local | cohort |
| National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems local | cohort |
| National Center for Health Statistics | cohort |
| New Jersey local | cohort |
| New Mexico local | cohort |
| Pacula et al., 2013 local | cohort |
| Per-capita mental health spending local | cohort |
| population age local | phenotype |
| race/ethnicity | phenotype |
| state | cohort |
| State medical marijuana policy local | drug |
| state of residence local | cohort |
| State political orientation local | cohort |
| State suicide rates local | phenotype |
| state suicide rates (1990–2007) local | cohort |
| State tobacco control policies local | drug |
| suicide | phenotype |
| suicide outcomes | phenotype |
| suicide risk | phenotype |
| tobacco control local | drug |
| tobacco control policies local | drug |
| Tobacco control policies local | cohort |
| tobacco use | phenotype |
| US states cohort local | cohort |
| women | cohort |
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External
| Title | Authors | Journal | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racial and Ethnic Differences in Suicide Mortality Among Youth Aged 12-25 Years Following Medical and Recreational Cannabis Legalization in the U.S. | Hammond CJ et al. | — | 2026 | → |
| Cannabis Policies, Cannabis, and Opioids in Suicide and Undetermined Intent Death. | Lira MC et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Evidence for Public Policies to Prevent Suicide Death in the United States. | Purtle J et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Examining the Interactive Associations of Cannabis and Alcohol Outlets With Self-harm Injuries in California: A Spatiotemporal Analysis. | Charris R et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Exploring the impact of drug decriminalization and legalization policies on mental health outcomes: A scoping review. | Mohebbian M et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Health, safety, and socioeconomic impacts of cannabis liberalization laws: An evidence and gap map. | Sevigny EL et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| The highs and the lows: Recreational marijuana laws and mental health treatment. | Ortega A | — | 2023 | → |
| Heterogeneous health effects of medical marijuana legalization: Evidence from young adults in the United States. | Chay J et al. | — | 2022 | → |
| Association of Racial Disparity of Cannabis Possession Arrests Among Adults and Youths With Statewide Cannabis Decriminalization and Legalization. | Sheehan BE et al. | — | 2021 | → |
| Evaluation of State Cannabis Laws and Rates of Self-harm and Assault. | Matthay EC et al. | — | 2021 | → |
| Changes in alcohol and cigarette consumption in response to medical and recreational cannabis legalization: Evidence from U.S. state tax receipt data. | Veligati S et al. | — | 2020 | → |
| Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide. | Bartos BJ et al. | — | 2020 | → |
| Guidelines for public health and safety metrics to evaluate the potential harms and benefits of cannabis regulation in Canada. | Lake S et al. | — | 2019 | → |
| Youth and Adult Arrests for Cannabis Possession After Decriminalization and Legalization of Cannabis. | Plunk AD et al. | — | 2019 | → |
| Evaluating the public health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis use in the United States. | Hall W et al. | — | 2016 | → |
| Largest Epidemiological Study not Mentioned. | Grotenhermen F | — | 2016 | → |
| The impact of adolescent exposure to medical marijuana laws on high school completion, college enrollment and college degree completion. | Plunk AD et al. | — | 2016 | → |
| The Impact of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age on Alcohol-Related Chronic Disease Mortality. | Plunk AD et al. | — | 2016 | → |
| Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide. | Grucza RA et al. | — | 2015 | → |