Identical Twins Reveal Legalizing Recreational Cannabis Has Increased Frequency of Use by 20%



A recent study that appeared in the academic journal Addiction suggests that the legalization of cannabis for recreational use in some U.S. states has resulted in an average 20% rise in the frequency of cannabis use in those states.

An extensive sample of adult identical twins was used in the study to evaluate the consequences of legalizing cannabis for recreational use. Particularly intriguing were the 111 identical twin pairings where one twin resided in a state with a different legalization of recreational marijuana than the other. Twin studies offer remarkably well-matched controls for one another in comparison to research on unrelated individuals, allowing for more accurate evaluation of the causal effect of legalizing recreational activities.

Participants in the study comprised 1,425 people from states where marijuana use for recreational purposes is permitted and 1,997 people from places where it is outlawed. The study indicated that across all of them, legalization led to an increase in mean cannabis usage frequency of 24%. When merely identical twins in different states with differing laws were examined, it was found that the twin in the 'legal' state smoked cannabis 20% more frequently than their cotwin in the 'illegal' state. These findings show that cannabis consumption increased after it became legal for recreational use.

The most widely used drug that is prohibited by federal law in the US is cannabis. It is also a drug that is addictive and has detrimental effects on one's physical and psychological well-being. Cannabis could not be purchased or sold for recreational use anywhere in the United States before to 2014. Over 141 million Americans did, however, reside in states where recreational marijuana use was legal as of the beginning of 2022.

Reference: "Impacts of recreational cannabis legalization on cannabis use: a longitudinal discordant twin study" by Stephanie M. Zellers, J. Megan Ross, Gretchen R. B. Saunders, Jarrod M. Ellingson, Jacob E. Anderson, Robin P. Corley, William Iacono, John K. Hewitt, Christian J. Hopfer, Matt K. McGue, and Scott Vrieze, published in the journal Addiction on August 24, 2022.

This research was made possible thanks to grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with the following grant numbers: R01DA042755, U01DA046413, R37DA005147, R01DA013240, R01DA036216, R01DA037904, K24DA032555, R01DA035804, P60DA011015, R01 The National Institutes of Health does not necessarily endorse the content, which is the full responsibility of its authors.

By SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF ADDICTION 

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