The impact of the legalization of recreational marijuana on college students (2018)

In January of 2014 the Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act or, Amendment 64, went into effect in Colorado. Even though it was the first state to enact recreational legalization, attitudes towards marijuana use have been changing for decades. Prompted by medical marijuana legalization, studies have found mixed results in regards to the impact that legalization has on frequency of use and abuse. With college students having the highest rates of use in the United States (U.S.), whether legal or not, it was important to explore the impact that legalization has on this population. In the current study, rates of marijuana and alcohol use in college students before and after recreational legalization were explored. Data was collected in four waves from October 2013 to March 2015, to be able to determine the trends in marijuana and alcohol use, and relationship between the substances. In addition, grade point average was measured as a possible consequence of marijuana use. We found the frequency of marijuana use in Colorado college students is much higher than the national average t(94445) = 24.424, p < 0.001, especially the percentage of daily or almost daily users, t(2191) = 10.373, p < 0.001. There were significant differences between the marijuana non-users and the once a week or more often but not daily marijuana users in grade point average, F(6, 227) = 2.935, p < 0.001. In addition, it seems that the relationship between alcohol and marijuana use in general is decreasing since the passing of Amendment 64, but not among the binge drinkers.
Highlights:
Rates of marijuana use in Colorado college students are higher than the national average, especially daily users.
Overall, the relationship between alcohol and marijuana use was found to be decreasing since the passing of Amendment 64.
Binge drinking significantly increases the chances of using marijuana in college students.