Prevalence and Correlates of Cannabis Use in Massachusetts after Cannabis Legalization and before Retail Sales

ABSTRACT

We determined the prevalence and correlates of cannabis use in Massachusetts after recreational use was passed, but before recreational cannabis stores opened. A cross-sectional, population-based survey of Massachusetts adults, age 18 years or older, (n = 3,022) was conducted in November–December, 2017. We estimated population-level prevalence and correlates of past 30-day cannabis use. 21.1% [95% CI: 18.6, 23.6] of Massachusetts adults reported past 30-day cannabis use. Among cannabis users, 56.0% [CI 49.1, 62.9] reported non-medical cannabis use, 15.5% [12.1, 18.9] reported medical cannabis use, and 28.5% [CI 22.3, 34.8] reported both types of use. Men were more likely than women to use cannabis (Risk Ratio: 1.3 [CI 1.1, 1.6]), as were young adults (18–25 years old), those with lower socioeconomic status, non-parenting individuals, those who used alcohol (1.9 [CI 1.4, 2.6]) or other substances (1.7 [CI 1.3, 2.4]), and residents of Western Massachusetts (2.0 [1.3, 3.0]; ref: Boston area), the Northeast (1.8 [CI 1.2, 2.7]), and the Southeast (1.8 [CI 1.1, 2.7]). Cannabis is widely used in Massachusetts, with varying prevalence rates by gender, age, socioeconomic status, poly-substance use, and region. Findings may inform public health efforts and serve as a baseline for measuring health and social impacts of opening retail cannabis stores.

KEYWORDS:

• Cannabis
• legalization
• non-medical cannabis
• marijuana
• prevalence
• Massachusetts

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by contract number 17_PRF61_7018 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Dr. Evans is supported by The Greenwall Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) UG3 DA0044830-02S1 and 1UG1DA050067-01, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Grant No. 1H79T1081387-01. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Thank you to Marc Nascarella, PhD, Rachel Wilson, MPH, RRT, Rosa Rodriquez-Monguio, PhD and Tyler Jette, MPH for their contributions to survey design and to Eliot Levine, PhD for his contribution to data collection.