Session: Legalization of Recreational Marijuana: How Parents and Communities May Influence Youth Marijuana Use (Society for Prevention Research 25th Annual Meeting)

This symposium involves research from the three U.S. states that have implemented the sales of marijuana to adults for recreational use for over a year. Implementation of sales has followed the vote for recreational legalization by one year to one year and eight months in these states. The panel will address how parents and communities may impact whether legalization of marijuana of adult recreational use increases the uptake or frequency of youth marijuana use.

The first presentation utilizes data from the state of Washington, investigating the associations between patterns of parent marijuana use and youth outcomes. This research addresses how youth may be impacted given increasing use by adults with the implementation of legalized recreation marijuana sales. The second presentation from Oregon uses a quasi-experimental design to assess how legalization of marijuana and community policy may influence youth attitudes towards marijuana, exposure to peer use, parent use, and youth use. The third presentation involves an evaluation of the Colorado State Health Department’s media campaign regarding recreational marijuana use. A description of the media campaign and its impact on parent attitudes about adolescent marijuana use, parent conversations with teens, and storage of marijuana in homes with children/teenagers will be presented. Implications of these research findings for policy development to prevent increasing youth marijuana use given the legalization of recreational marijuana for adults will be discussed.