Extending the Harm to Others Paradigm: Comparing Marijuana- and Alcohol-Attributed Harms in Washington State

ABSTRACT

Harms attributed to others’ alcohol use have been extensively studied in the US and internationally, but no studies have measured harms from others’ marijuana use. We utilize data from five cross-sectional waves of a survey series with representative samples of Washington state residents conducted every 6 months from 2014 to 2016, after the legalization of adult use marijuana. Harms attributed to others’ drinking and to others’ marijuana use included family and financial problems, assault, harassment, and vandalism experiences, and accidents due to impaired drivers. Past year harms attributed to others’ marijuana use were reported by 8.4% of the sample, while 21.3% reported alcohol-attributed harms and 4.3% experienced both. Women were more likely to experience harms from either substance. While heavy drinkers were most likely to experience alcohol harms from others’ use, frequent marijuana users reported the least harms from others. About three times as many individuals reported harassment, vandalism, or family problems attributed to someone’s alcohol use compared to those harms attributed to someone’s marijuana use, with a smaller ratio seen for financial trouble and a wider ratio for physical harm. Harms attributed to other’s marijuana use in Washington were found to be substantial, but lower than harms from others’ drinking.

KEYWORDS:

• Harms from others
• externalities
• marijuana
• alcohol

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (grant numbers R01 AA021742, R01 AA022791 and P50 AA005595). Content and opinions are those of authors and do not reflect official positions of NIAAA or the National Institutes of Health.