A newly released study suggests that cannabis use will increase as Connecticut moves closer to retail sales of recreational cannabis in the coming months.
The studypublished in the September issue of the journal “Drug and Alcohol Dependence,” showed that “cannabis use was more common in states with recreational cannabis laws.”
Although the study focused on the time period between 2004 and 2017, the study’s lead author, Renee Goodwin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University and City University of New York York, said the same will be true for Connecticut.
“It seems like that would be a logical and safe assumption, based on the available data,” he said.
Goodwin argues that while limits have been placed on the amount of cannabis that can be sold to any customer, there hasn’t been much education in states where cannabis is legal about how much a consumer should consume and the effects of this use
“US states are rapidly passing legislation, but what should be necessary public education about how to use cannabis safely has not kept up with these changes,” Goodwin said. “For example, retail licenses are being issued and recreational retail outlets are expected to open within the year in New York State, but New York has not provided evidence-based guidance that describe safe cannabis use practices or inform the public of potential health risks. associated with various levels of cannabis use.”
One problem, Goodwin said, has been a lack of academic studies on the potential health risks.
“While I suggest providing education to people so they can use them safely for themselves and others around them, I don’t see any information provided possibly because no one has had the time, opportunity or funding to study this, yet which historically wasn’t much of a hot topic in the field,” he said.
While there have been numerous studies on the effects of prolonged alcohol use and the guidelines that come with it after this work, “I’m not aware of anything of that nature existing for cannabis,” Goodwin said. “It seems like this information would be useful to consumers and to protect them and society from potential risks, even just driving under the influence.”
Connecticut the legalized recreational use of cannabis in July of last year, and has been slowly moving towards legal cultivation and retail sale. 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 he expects the increase in use will not be as pronounced in municipalities bordering others where cannabis use is already legal, but that the perception of risk may also be lower.
“Relative to 2017, when our recent study period ended, the wave of legalization in the United States has been so rapid and widespread that actually residing in a neighboring state will affect consumption, but also perception general perception of the risk associated with cannabis use (to the extent that it is a barrier) has been or is rapidly being altered by the perception that legalization implies that the substance is risk-free,” he to say.
Goodwin’s study also found that cannabis use is very high among people who smoke cigarettes, including young teenagers.
Among 12- to 17-year-olds who smoke cigarettes, 73% had used cannabis in the past month and 30% had used it daily. This is concerning both for the risks associated with cannabis use and also for tobacco use.
“Cannabis use is becoming more common among those who also smoke cigarettes, using both is more harmful to health than one or the other (for example, the risk of certain cancers),” Goodwin said . “People may not be aware of that.”
And using cannabis, he said, can make tobacco use more likely and harder to stop.
“In previous studies we have found that cannabis use is associated with increased odds of cigarette initiation, persistent cigarette use among smokers (lower quit rates), and relapse of cigarettes among former smokers,” Goodwin said. “So the overarching question is whether increased cannabis use can affect the broader mission of tobacco control and reducing cigarette use. We just don’t know.”