Investigating the Impacts of Cannabis Retail Policy on the Health of Canadians: evidence generation using pan Canadian health administrative data
Myran, D., Tanuseputro, P., Auger, N., Konikoff, L., Talarico, R., Finkelstein, Y., Gaudreault, A., Pacula, R.
The objectives of this research project were to examine the association between variations in provincial cannabis regulatory policies on differences in a) hospitalizations for pediatric cannabis poisonings and b) hospitalizations caused by cannabis in youth and adults following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. Study findings to date have shown a substantial increase in hospitalizations for cannabis poisonings in children following the legalization of non-medical cannabis. Most of the increase occurred after the introduction of the legal sale of cannabis edible products. Canadian provinces allowing the sale of cannabis edibles experienced double the increase in pediatric cannabis poisonings compared to the province that prohibited their sale.
Annual rates of hospitalizations due to cannabis in adults increased by 1.62 times between January 2015 and March 2021. The initial period following legalization with limited stores and product types was not associated with increases in visits. In contrast, the commercialization of the cannabis retail market (expanding stores and products), which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, was associated with an increase in hospitalizations due to cannabis. In general, provinces with higher levels of cannabis sales and more stores per individual observed larger increases in hospitalizations due to cannabis after legalization, although there was variation by province.
Publications:
Myran D, Tanuseputro P, Auger N, Konikoff L, Talarico R, Finkelstein Y. (2022). Edible Cannabis Legalization and Unintentional Poisonings in Children. New England Journal of Medicine, 387(8), 757-759. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2207661
Myran D, Tanuseputro P, Auger N, Konikoff L, Talarico R, Finkelstein Y. (2023). Pediatric Hospitalizations for Unintentional Cannabis Poisonings and All-Cause Poisonings Associated with Edible Cannabis Product Legalization and Sales in Canada. JAMA Health Forum, 4(1), e225041. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2800316