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Does a state legalizing weed improve its mental health?

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A recent study found that when states adopt recreational cannabis laws, admissions for mental health treatment drop. 

The study, published in the journal Health Economics, is notable given growing questions about cannabis’ impact on mental health. Over the past two decades, numerous states have legalized cannabis use for adults. Unfortunately, research on how cannabis impacts mental health is mixed

Some studies have found cannabis helpful for some mental health conditions, while others suggest cannabis’ potential to worsen certain conditions. Because of this complex picture, some have worried that cannabis legalization could lead to worse mental health for the general population. 

This study, however, suggests a more positive outcome arrives shortly after recreational cannabis laws—less admissions for mental health treatment. 

Cannabis laws and mental health 

Moe Greens cannabis lounge in San Francisco (Leafly File Photo by Jamie Soja)
Moe Greens cannabis lounge in San Francisco. (Leafly File Photo by Jamie Soja)

Until recently, scant research existed on how cannabis laws impact mental health. But Alberto Ortega, a researcher from Indiana University, Bloomington, wanted to know more. “Recreational marijuana laws continue to grow in popularity, but the effects on mental health treatment are unclear,” Ortega explains. This motivated him to investigate whether the increasing number of states with legal cannabis saw significant impacts. 

To do this, Ortega analyzed data on mental health admissions from state mental health facilities’ Uniform Reporting System. This included data on patients ages 13 to 65, over 12 years from 2007 to 2019. During this time, 10 states passed recreational cannabis laws. By comparing each state’s data, in the years before and after voters adopted the new laws, Ortega uncovered a clear pattern. Shortly after a state adopts cannabis legalization, they experience a significant drop in mental health treatment admissions.

The results look clear: Legal cannabis leads to fewer mental health admissions.

These results proved robust even when she controlled for differences between states with cannabis laws and those without. For example, states who passed recreational cannabis laws tend to have broader Medicaid access, as well as pre-existing medical cannabis laws. Since these factors could also impact mental health, Ortega controlled for them in his analysis. He also included controls for demographics like age, race, economics, and politics. But even with these controls, the main findings held. 

Details are in the caption following the image

This graph shows mental health treatment admissions in the years before and after recreational cannabis laws.

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Results differ for some demographics 

In the first few years after a state adopted a recreational cannabis law, states experienced a 37% drop in mental health admissions, on average. The results stayed fairly consistent across all ages under 65, with even the youngest group (13-20), seeing reductions in admissions. The correlation also proved relatively consistent between men and women, who experienced a 42% and 37% reduction in admissions, respectively. 

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Race drove the biggest differences in results. Black mental health admissions fell 27%, versus only a 9% decrease for whites. However other racial demographics showed less consistent results. Who did one race report fewer admissions than another? We need more research to understand this connection and what might drive it.

Medicaid enrollees also experienced bigger results. However this may result from reporting facilities having a high number of Medicaid users. Still, both groups saw decreases in admissions after cannabis legalization.

Details are in the caption following the image

These graphs show mental health treatment admissions in the years before and after recreational cannabis laws, by race. (a) White (b) Black (c) Hispanic (d) Other Race.

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Results show lower admissions, not better mental health

You might want to interpret this study as showing cannabis freedoms directly helping individuals’ mental health—and thus leading to fewer mental health admissions. But as Ortega explains, “the pathways contributing to the decrease in treatment admissions remain unclear. Thus, the results should not be conflated with improved mental health.”

Future research needs to address the causes of the link. Because a number of different theories could explain the data. Cannabis may directly help with mental health. But it’s also possible that self-medication with cannabis deters a person from seeking help, without actually improving their mental health. Unknown factors could also lead to these results.

One big limitation of this study: it doesn’t actually tell us who used cannabis, and how their mental health fared. It only looks at large-scale trends at the population level. This cannot replace medical research looking at mental health outcomes from cannabis use. Ortega reminds us that his findings, “speak specifically to treatment admissions and should not be conflated with improving or declining mental health.” Still, in terms of cannabis legalization’s immediate impact on the health system—the results look clear: Legal cannabis leads to fewer mental health admissions.



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CDC calls for expanded bird flu testing after more dairy worker infections found in Colorado and Michigan

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Federal health officials on Thursday called for more testing of employees on farms with bird flu after a new study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn’t report feeling sick.

Farmworkers in close contact with infected animals should be tested and offered treatment even if they show no symptoms, said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidance comes after blood tests for 115 farmworkers in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers — or 7% — had antibodies that indicated previous infection with the virus known as Type A H5N1 influenza.

Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.



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apartments

Owner of troubled Aurora apartments faces state investigation related to conditions, consumer-protection laws

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The owners of several dilapidated apartment buildings in Aurora and Denver have faced a new threat in recent months: an investigation by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office on suspicion of violating the state’s safe-housing and consumer-protection laws.

The state office sent subpoenas to CBZ Management, one of its primary representatives and several of its subordinate companies in September, according to records obtained by The Denver Post. The subpoenas seek answers and records related to a swath of CBZ’s practices, including how it advertises its properties and whether tenants get the apartments they have toured; how the companies track and respond to maintenance requests and health code violations; how they handle security deposits; and how they screen tenants, among other questions.

CBZ Management’s buildings in Aurora have been the subject of extensive tenant and municipal complaints and have recently drawn international attention over allegations the properties were overtaken by gangs.

Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.



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Apple

Apple AirPods Pro’s new hearing aid feature could help people face a problem they’d rather ignore

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By DEVI SHASTRI, Associated Press

Some Apple AirPods wireless headphones can be used as hearing aids with a new software update available in October. It’s a high-profile move that experts applaud, even if they only reach a small portion of the millions of Americans with hearing loss.

An estimated 30 million people — 1 in 8 Americans over the age of 12 — have hearing loss in both ears. Millions would benefit from hearing aids but most have never tried them, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Countless others have tried them, but don’t use them because of cost, poor quality, poor fit, how they look or for other reasons.

Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.



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