Purpose of Review This article provides an overview of current federal, state, and relevant international “medical marijuana” policies. We also describe the impacts of “medical marijuana” policy on adolescents’ use of marijuana and other substances. Recent Findings Evidence on the medical benefits of marijuana in adolescents is limited in the context of risks for marijuana-related harm. The leg...

BACKGROUND California may vote on marijuana legalization in 2016. Young adults have the highest rates of marijuana use, but little is known about the correlates of use in this age group, including factors that may be affected by policy change. We investigated whether there are differences in marijuana use by sociodemographic characteristics, psychological distress, loneliness and social support...

In December 2012, the possession and private use of limited quantities of marijuana and marijuana products became legal in the state of Washington. At the same time, the state's driving under the influence statutes were amended to include a per se level of 5 ng/mL delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in whole blood for drivers aged 21 years and older. The aim of this study was to assess the effe...

Purpose of Review There is not one answer to address whether marijuana use has increased, decreased, or stayed the same given changes in state legalization of medical and non-medical marijuana in the USA. Recent Findings Evidence suggests some health benefits for medical marijuana; however, initiation of marijuana use is a risk factor for developing problem cannabis use. Though use rates have...

In today’s political and social climate, legalizing removing marijuana from the Schedule I federal list of controlled substances has been a major topic discussion across United States. As more states pass legislation to legalize marijuana, whether it be for medicinal or recreational means, market is being created that economically valuable possibilities include increased funding schools, state ...

Legalization of medical marijuana has been one of the most controversial areas of state policy change over the past twenty years. However, little is known about whether medical marijuana is being used clinically to any significant degree. Using data on all prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D enrollees from 2010 to 2013, we found that the use of prescription drugs for which marijuana could s...