Do children in legal-cannabis states know more about marijuana?
Data from 11,875 children in the ABCD Study found that kids aged 9-11 living in states with recreational cannabis laws had greater cannabis knowledge and reported more alcohol experimentation, but their knowledge of other drugs was not elevated.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Children in states with more permissive cannabis laws had greater knowledge of cannabis specifically, but not of alcohol, tobacco, or other illicit drugs. Children in recreational-use states also reported more alcohol experimentation. Externalizing behavior was not significantly associated with cannabis knowledge in any group. The association between externalizing behavior and illicit drug knowledge was significant only in recreational and medical states but did not differ significantly across groups.
Key Numbers
11,875 children; ages 9-11; 22 US sites; 4 state policy categories; cannabis knowledge higher in permissive states; alcohol experimentation higher in recreational states; knowledge of other drugs not elevated; no association between externalizing and cannabis knowledge
How They Did This
Cross-sectional analysis of 11,875 children aged 9-11 from the ABCD Study baseline (2016-2018). Compared substance knowledge and associations with externalizing behavior across four state cannabis policy groups: recreational, medical, low THC/CBD, and no cannabis laws. Chi-square difference tests on nested models.
Why This Research Matters
The concern that cannabis legalization normalizes drug use for children is partially supported: children in legal states know more about cannabis. However, the specificity to cannabis (and not other drugs) suggests legalization increases awareness of one substance rather than broadly normalizing all drug use.
The Bigger Picture
Greater cannabis knowledge in children is not necessarily harmful. Knowing about cannabis could reflect exposure to public health messaging alongside normalization. The lack of association between cannabis knowledge and behavioral problems suggests awareness alone does not drive problematic behavior at this age.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design captures one time point. State-level policy differences may correlate with other cultural factors. Cannabis knowledge was measured but not attitudes or intentions. Children aged 9-11 are pre-initiation for most substance use.
Questions This Raises
- ?Does childhood cannabis knowledge predict adolescent use?
- ?Is the increased alcohol experimentation in recreational states coincidental or causally related to cannabis normalization?
- ?How do parental attitudes mediate the relationship between state laws and child knowledge?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 11,875 children across 4 policy types
- Evidence Grade:
- Large national sample from a premier cohort study, but cross-sectional and state-level policy differences may reflect other confounders.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2021 with 2016-2018 baseline data; cannabis policy landscape has continued to change.
- Original Title:
- Children's Knowledge of Cannabis and Other Substances in States with Different Cannabis Use Regulations.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 56(14), 2126-2133 (2021)
- Authors:
- Ross, J Megan(6), Rieselbach, Maya M, Hewitt, John K(8), Banich, Marie T, Rhee, Soo Hyun
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03471
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Do kids in legal states know more about marijuana?
Yes. Children ages 9-11 in states with recreational or medical cannabis laws had greater cannabis knowledge than children in non-legal states. However, their knowledge of other drugs like alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances was not elevated.
Does knowing about cannabis lead to problems?
In this study, cannabis knowledge was not associated with externalizing behavior problems in any group, suggesting that awareness of cannabis at ages 9-11 does not itself predict problematic behavior.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03471APA
Ross, J Megan; Rieselbach, Maya M; Hewitt, John K; Banich, Marie T; Rhee, Soo Hyun. (2021). Children's Knowledge of Cannabis and Other Substances in States with Different Cannabis Use Regulations.. Substance use & misuse, 56(14), 2126-2133. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1972316
MLA
Ross, J Megan, et al. "Children's Knowledge of Cannabis and Other Substances in States with Different Cannabis Use Regulations.." Substance use & misuse, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1972316
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Children's Knowledge of Cannabis and Other Substances in Sta..." RTHC-03471. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/ross-2021-childrens-knowledge-of-cannabis
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.