Dataset Information

Examination of the Divergence in Trends for Adolescent Marijuana Use and Marijuana-Specific Risk Factors in Washington State.

ABSTRACT: As marijuana laws have become more permissive, survey data on adolescents in the United States have shown an increase in marijuana-specific risk factors, particularly in the proportion of youth who do not perceive marijuana use as harmful. Prevalence of marijuana use among youth, however, has changed little. Using representative data from Washington State, which has legalized medical and nonmedical marijuana for adults, we examined two competing hypotheses to account for this divergence in population trends.Data were from 2000 to 2014 biennial Washington State surveys of 10th-grade students. First, we assessed whether associations between marijuana use and marijuana-specific risk factors have weakened over time. Second, we examined whether decreases in alcohol and cigarette use can account for the lack of expected increase in marijuana use prevalence.Despite stability in marijuana use prevalence, there were increases in marijuana-specific risk factors of low perceived harm, youth favorable attitudes about use, and perceived community attitudes favorable to use. Associations between marijuana use and marijuana use predictors varied little across time; if anything, the positive association between low perceived harm and marijuana use grew stronger. Decreases in prevalence of alcohol and cigarette use largely accounted for stability in marijuana use during a period when marijuana risk factors increased.Decreases in other types of substance use or in the underlying, common risk for substance use may have mitigated effects of increases in marijuana-specific risk factors.

SUBMITTER: Fleming CB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5002255 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Examination of the Divergence in Trends for Adolescent Marijuana Use and Marijuana-Specific Risk Factors in Washington State.

Fleming Charles B CB Guttmannova Katarina K Cambron Christopher C Rhew Isaac C IC Oesterle Sabrina S

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 20160616 3

<h4>Purpose</h4>As marijuana laws have become more permissive, survey data on adolescents in the United States have shown an increase in marijuana-specific risk factors, particularly in the proportion of youth who do not perceive marijuana use as harmful. Prevalence of marijuana use among youth, however, has changed little. Using representative data from Washington State, which has legalized medical and nonmedical marijuana for adults, we examined two competing hypotheses to account for this div ...[more]

PMID: 27318426

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Project description:ImportanceHistorical shifts are occurring in marijuana policy. The effect of legalizing marijuana for recreational use on rates of adolescent marijuana use is a topic of considerable debate.ObjectiveTo examine the association between the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington and Colorado in 2012 and the subsequent perceived harmfulness and use of marijuana by adolescents.Design, setting, and participantsWe used data of 253 902 students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grades from 2010 to 2015 from Monitoring the Future, a national, annual, cross-sectional survey of students in secondary schools in the contiguous United States. Difference-in-difference estimates compared changes in perceived harmfulness of marijuana use and in past-month marijuana use in Washington and Colorado prior to recreational marijuana legalization (2010-2012) with postlegalization (2013-2015) vs the contemporaneous trends in other states that did not legalize recreational marijuana use in this period.Main outcomes and measuresPerceived harmfulness of marijuana use (great or moderate risk to health from smoking marijuana occasionally) and marijuana use (past 30 days).ResultsOf the 253 902 participants, 120 590 of 245 065(49.2%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 15.6 (1.7) years. In Washington, perceived harmfulness declined 14.2% and 16.1% among eighth and 10th graders, respectively, while marijuana use increased 2.0% and 4.1% from 2010-2012 to 2013-2015. In contrast, among states that did not legalize recreational marijuana use, perceived harmfulness decreased by 4.9% and 7.2% among eighth and 10th graders, respectively, and marijuana use decreased by 1.3% and 0.9% over the same period. Difference-in-difference estimates comparing Washington vs states that did not legalize recreational drug use indicated that these differences were significant for perceived harmfulness (eighth graders: % [SD], -9.3 [3.5]; P = .01; 10th graders: % [SD], -9.0 [3.8]; P = .02) and marijuana use (eighth graders: % [SD], 5.0 [1.9]; P = .03; 10th graders: % [SD], 3.2 [1.5]; P = .007). No significant differences were found in perceived harmfulness or marijuana use among 12th graders in Washington or for any of the 3 grades in Colorado.Conclusions and relevanceAmong eighth and 10th graders in Washington, perceived harmfulness of marijuana use decreased and marijuana use increased following legalization of recreational marijuana use. In contrast, Colorado did not exhibit any differential change in perceived harmfulness or past-month adolescent marijuana use following legalization. A cautious interpretation of the findings suggests investment in evidence-based adolescent substance use prevention programs in any additional states that may legalize recreational marijuana use.

Project description:BackgroundRabies is a zoonotic viral disease that can affect all mammals. In the United States, the majority of human rabies cases are caused by bats, which are the only known reservoirs for rabies virus (RABV) in Washington State. We sought to characterize bat RABV epidemiology in Washington among bats submitted by the public for RABV testing.MethodsWe examined temporal and spatial trends in RABV positivity (% positive) for taxonomically identified bats submitted to diagnostic laboratories during 2006-2017. For a subset of Myotis species, we evaluated sensitivity and predictive value positive (PPV) of morphological identification keys, using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b) as a reference. For bats tested during 2000-2016, we analyzed RABV positivity by circumstances of encounters with humans, cats, and dogs.ResultsDuring 2006-2017, RABV positivity for all bat species was 6.0% (176/2,928). Among species with ≥100 submissions, RABV positivity was 2.0%-11.7% and highest among big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). An increasing trend in annual positivity was significant only for big brown bats (P = 0.02), and was circumstantially linked to a geographic cluster. Sensitivity and PPV of morphological identification keys was high for M. evotis but varied for M. lucifugus, M. californicus, M. yumanensis, and M. septentrionalis. A positive RABV result was significantly associated with nonsynanthropic species, abnormal behavior, abnormal hiding, injury, biting, found in a body of water, found alive, found outdoors, and caught by a dog.ConclusionMonitoring passive RABV surveillance trends enables public health authorities to perform more accurate risk assessments. Differences in temporal and spatial trends in RABV positivity by bat species indicate the importance of collecting taxonomic data, although morphological identification can be unreliable for certain Myotis species. Current public health practices for RABV exposures should be maintained as RABV infection in bats can never be excluded without diagnostic testing.

Project description:AimsTo test, among US students: (1) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana has changed over time, (2) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana changed post-passage of state medical marijuana laws (MML) compared with pre-passage; and (3) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana statistically mediates and/or modifies the relation between MML and marijuana use as a function of grade level.DesignCross-sectional nationally representative surveys of US students, conducted annually, 1991-2014, in the Monitoring the Future study.SettingSurveys conducted in schools in all coterminous states; 21 states passed MML between 1996 and 2014.ParticipantsThe sample included 1 134 734 adolescents in 8th, 10th and 12th grades.MeasurementsState passage of MML; perceived harmfulness of marijuana use (perceiving great or moderate risk to health from smoking marijuana occasionally versus slight or no risk); and marijuana use (prior 30 days). Data were analyzed using time-varying multi-level regression modeling.FindingsThe perceived harmfulness of marijuana has decreased significantly since 1991 (from an estimated 84.0% in 1991 to 53.8% in 2014, P < 0.01) and, across time, perceived harmfulness was lower in states that passed MML [odds ratio (OR) = 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75-0.97]. In states with MML, perceived harmfulness of marijuana increased among 8th graders after MML passage (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.08-1.36), while marijuana use decreased (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.72-0.92). Results were null for other grades, and for all grades combined. Increases in perceived harmfulness among 8th graders after MML passage was associated with ~33% of the decrease in use. When adolescents were stratified by perceived harmfulness, use in 8th graders decreased to a greater extent among those who perceived marijuana as harmful.ConclusionsWhile perceived harmfulness of marijuana use appears to be decreasing nationally among adolescents in the United States, the passage of medical marijuana laws (MML) is associated with increases in perceived harmfulness among young adolescents and marijuana use has decreased among those who perceive marijuana to be harmful after passage of MML.

Dataset Information

Examination of the Divergence in Trends for Adolescent Marijuana Use and Marijuana-Specific Risk Factors in Washington State.

Publications

Examination of the Divergence in Trends for Adolescent Marijuana Use and Marijuana-Specific Risk Factors in Washington State.

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