High on Life? Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide

Image result for cato institute

“Our research examines the relationship between medical marijuana laws (hereafter MMLs) and suicides.

Our results suggest that the passage of a MML is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate.

We conclude that the legalization of medical marijuana leads to fewer suicides among young adult males.”

https://www.cato.org/publications/research-briefs-economic-policy/high-life-medical-marijuana-laws-suicide

Study: Medical Marijuana Legalization leads to decrease in suicide rates”   https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/2/26/1068413/-Study-Medical-Marijuana-Legalization-leads-to-decrease-in-suicide-rates

“Legal Weed Appears to Cause a Sharp Reduction in Suicides”  https://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2012/02/07/legal-weed-appears-to-cause-a-sharp-reduction-in-suicides-discuss

“Marijuana Can Help Prevent Suicide, Study Suggests”  http://www.laweekly.com/news/marijuana-can-help-prevent-suicide-study-suggests-2389148

Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicides by Gender and Age.

:American Journal of Public Health Logo

 

“We estimated the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides.

Legalization was associated with a 10.8%  and 9.4% reduction in the suicide rate of men aged 20 through 29 years and 30 through 39 years, respectively.

Suicides among men aged 20 through 39 years fell after medical marijuana legalization compared with those in states that did not legalize.

The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young men is consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana can be used to cope with stressful life events.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232164/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24432945

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301612

“Legalizing Medical Marijuana May Lead To Fewer Suicides”  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/marijuana-legalization-suicide_n_4726390.html

“Medical Marijuana Cuts Suicide Rates By 10% In Years Following Legalization”  http://www.medicaldaily.com/medical-marijuana-cuts-suicide-rates-10-years-following-legalization-268472