Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35508822›Full record

SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2024

Is legalization of recreational cannabis associated with levels of use and cannabis use disorder among youth in the United States? A rapid systematic review.

Megan A O'Grady, Marissa G Iverson, Adekemi O Suleiman, Taeho Greg Rhee

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. How tax structures for retail cannabis shape cannabis use among youth and young adults: evidence from a volumetric choice experiment.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Intentions matter: How planned and unplanned alcohol and cannabis use influences outcomes.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026
    Article
  7. Local Cannabis Policy and Cannabis Use by California High School Students Before and After Statewide Retail Legalization.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Cannabis to cope with COVID-19 in college.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2025
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. The Role of Cannabis in the Development of Psychosis.Turk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry · 2024
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Megan A O'GradyDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, USA. ogrady@uchc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1121-734X
Marissa G IversonLyman Maynard Stowe Library, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA.
Adekemi O SuleimanDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, USA.
Taeho Greg RheeDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cannabis legalization policies are rapidly changing in the United States. While there are concerns that recreational legalization will negatively affect young people, previous reviews have not provided clear indication of such effects. The purpose of this rapid systematic review was to examine whether recreational legalization was associated with increases in prevalence of cannabis use and use disorder among adolescents and young adults. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Dissertations & Theses Global, the Trip Database, and OpenGrey were searched from date of inception through Marcy 17, 2022 to retrieve all relevant records. English language and human subject filters were applied. Two reviewers screened abstracts and titles, assessed full text articles, and coded the final included articles. Studies including primarily 10- to 19-year-olds were classified as adolescent, and those between 18 and 26 years as young adult. Our search identified 33 research reports (22 with adolescent samples; 14 young adult). For adolescents, ten studies reported no change in use prevalence associated with legalization, six reported a decrease, and seven reported an increase. Among young adults, most studies (8) showed an increase in at least one prevalence measure, four showed no change, and one showed a decrease. Only two adolescent and one young adult study examined cannabis use disorder, both adolescent studies showed an increase, and the young adult showed no change. The majority of studies had risk of bias. Recreational legalization may be associated with increases in prevalence of cannabis use in young adults while results for adolescents are mixed. Policymakers and practitioners should consider appropriate prevention and treatment options for young people.Trial Registration: PROSPERO #CRD42021276984.

Indexed as

Marijuana AbuseAdolescentAdultChildHumansLegislation, DrugMarijuana UsePrevalenceUnited StatesYoung AdultAdolescentCannabis policyCannabis useCannabis use disorderRecreational cannabis legalizationYoung adultYouth

Identifiers

PMID35508822

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.