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Article Summaries

Ke’mya Ewards

Writing in Psychology - Sec 92 - 14281

10-20-2021

Article Summaries

Article 1: Legalization of Marijuana and its Effects

This article introduces the legalization of marijuana and its effects across various areas. It notes that as of 2020, recreational use of marijuana has been legalized in 11 U.S. states including Colorado, Illinois, and Washington, through state ballot initiatives and legislation (Curry & Wilson, 2020). On the other hand, marijuana remains illegal under federal law. The legalization has generated significant interest from researchers studying its impact on public health, criminal justice systems and government tax revenues. Some of the potential effects discussed include public health consequences of increased use, economic and financial impacts on government budgets through taxation of sales as well as impact on criminal justice systems due to reduced arrests and prosecutions for possession offenses.

Article 2: Changes in Traffic Crash Rates After Legalization of Marijuana

This article examines the impact of legalizing recreational marijuana use and the onset of retail marijuana sales on traffic crash rates in different U.S. states from 2009 to 2019. The researchers obtained state-level quarterly crash data and controlled for various confounding factors like unemployment, speed limits, seatbelt use, alcohol consumption and rural road percentages. Their statistical analysis found that legalizing recreational marijuana use was associated with a 6.5% increase in injury crash rates and a 2.3% bump in fatal crash rates (Farmer et al., 2022). The establishment of a retail marijuana sales system did not lead to significant additional changes in crash levels. When combining the effects of legalization and sales, there was an estimated 5.8% increase in injury crash rates and 4.1% rise in fatal crashes (Farmer et al., 2022). The effects varied considerably across different states as well, with injury crash rate impacts ranging from a 7% reduction to 18% increase depending on the state. Likewise, fatal crash rates saw changes from a 10% drop to 4% increase.

Article 3: Legalization of marijuana takes another step forward

This article discusses how the legalization of marijuana has taken another step closer to becoming a reality in the United States. It mentions that last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which aims to reschedule marijuana and clear past criminal records for federal marijuana offenses (Knopf, 2019). This represents a historic milestone as it is the first time a congressional committee has endorsed ending federal prohibition of marijuana. The executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance called it an important step towards stopping the harms of current marijuana prohibitions. If passed by the full House and Senate, the MORE Act would formally remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and thus end its designation as an illegal drug under federal law (Knopf, 2019). Legal experts have noted that significant challenges remain before final legalization, such as opposition from Senate Republicans and the uncertain stance of the White House. Nonetheless, the approval by the Judiciary Committee signals growing bipartisan support for reforming federal marijuana laws.

Article 4: Perceptions of public health consequences of marijuana legalization

This article discusses the findings of a survey conducted in Michigan that looked at public perceptions of consequences from legalizing marijuana. The web-based survey with over 2000 adult respondents examined views on potency of marijuana today compared to the past as well as perceived impacts on areas like road safety, workplace safety and emergency department visits. The results found that a large majority of 79.7% were aware of marijuana being more potent now (Resko et al., 2021). Over half felt legalization would adversely impact road safety at 55.5%, employee safety at 58.8% and increase emergency visits at 62.8%. The survey also identified that a significant minority of the public do not think legalization will have negative health effects. The study found attitudes varied based on demographics, marijuana use history and opinions on legalization (Resko et al., 2021). Given more states moving to legalize cannabis, the authors conclude prevention efforts may be needed to reduce possible adverse consequences of use, as recognized risks to public health persist for a portion of the population despite increasing social acceptance of the drug.

Article 5: Is the Legalization of Marijuana Associated With Its Use by Adolescents?

This brief research report examines the relationship between the legalization of marijuana for adult use in U.S states and rates of adolescent marijuana consumption. The study involved a survey of over 1300 youths across 48 states assessing their marijuana use. The authors then compared use rates to the legal status of the drug in respondents' home states (Schinke et al., 2017). The findings did not reveal a correlation between states permitting adult marijuana use and higher adolescent usage. The research did identify some key demographic factors associated with increased youth marijuana use. Specifically, older adolescents, females and non-Hispanic youth reported higher rates of consumption (Schinke et al., 2017). Additionally, adolescents whose parents had obtained at least two years of college education were less likely to use marijuana compared to those with parents having less education. While the results do not support the hypothesis that legalizing adult marijuana would lead to greater adolescent use, the authors state more comprehensive monitoring is still warranted given ongoing policy reforms across different jurisdictions in America.

References

Curry, P., & Wilson, W. W. (2020). LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA AND ITS EFFECTS: AN INTRODUCTION. Economic Inquiry, 58(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12877

Farmer, C. M., Monfort, S. S., & Woods, A. N. (2022). Changes in traffic crash rates after legalization of marijuana: results by crash severity. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 83(4), 494-501. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2022.83.494

Knopf, A. (2019). Legalization of marijuana takes another step forward. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 31(45), 5-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/adaw.32550

Resko, S. M., Szechy, K. A., Early, T. J., Ellis, J. D., Hicks, D., & Agius, E. (2021). Perceptions of public health consequences of marijuana legalization. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(3), 255-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2020.1823971

Schinke, S., Schwinn, T., Hopkins, J., Gorroochurn, P., & Wahlstrom, L. (2017). Is the legalization of marijuana associated with its use by adolescents?. Substance use & misuse, 52(2), 256-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1223139