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Medical Marijuana Laws and Mental Health in the United States

Kalbfuss, Jörg and Odermatt, Reto and Stutzer, Alois. (2018) Medical Marijuana Laws and Mental Health in the United States. (1546).

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Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/67333/

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Abstract

The consequences of legal access to medical marijuana for individual welfare are a matter of controversy. We contribute to the ongoing discussion by evaluating the impact of the staggered introduction and extension of medical marijuana laws across US states on self-reported mental health. Our main analysis is based on BRFSS survey data from more than six million respondents between 1993 and 2015. On average, we find that medical marijuana laws lead to a reduction in the self-reported number of days with mental health problems. Reductions are largest for individuals with high propensities to consume marijuana for medical purposes and people who are likely to suffer from chronic pain. Moreover, the introduction of prescription drug monitoring programs lead to a reduction in bad mental health days only in states that allow medical marijuana.
Faculties and Departments:06 Faculty of Business and Economics > Departement Wirtschaftswissenschaften > Professuren Wirtschaftswissenschaften > Politische Ökonomie (Stutzer)
UniBasel Contributors:Stutzer, Alois and Odermatt, Reto and Kalbfuss, Jörg
Item Type:Working Paper
Publisher:Centre for Economic Performance / LSE
ISSN:2042-2695
Number of Pages:65
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Discussion paper / Internet publication
Language:English
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Last Modified:10 Jan 2019 10:52
Deposited On:28 Dec 2018 10:34

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