A new study shows that states which legalized medical marijuana experienced a drop of nearly 20 percent in the number children entering foster care because of parental drug abuse after three years. A new study found that legalizing marijuana for adult use was not linked to any statistically significant changes in foster care entry.
Researchers at Georgia College & State University wanted to know if legalizing cannabis would reduce stigma, allow proper use and decrease the likelihood that a child would be removed from their care. Or, conversely if it would cause foster care cases to increase as a result of increased access to legal marijuana.
The study examined national data from 2007-2019, which included 3.4 million foster cases. Using difference-in-differences analyses, researchers examined rate changes in foster case placements related to drug misuse, comparing states that enacted legalization to those that maintained prohibition. Researchers controlled for factors like state unemployment rates and per capita income.
The study states that “our estimates suggest there was no change in the number foster care entries associated with parental or teenage drug use relative to control states” when states allowed recreational marijuana.
There was a noticeable shift in states that legalized medical cannabis. In the two years following implementation, foster care cases involving drug abuse decreased by an average of 8-10%. In the third year of implementation, cases decreased 18%, which is equivalent to “approximately 710 fewer foster care entries [that] are related to parental drug misuse when a state legalized medicinal marijuana.”
The study is still undergoing peer review. It is an important conclusion, given that 90 per cent of foster cases are entered due to drug abuse in states with medical cannabis legal. The second most common cause of a child being placed in foster care is drug misuse.
The study compared states with restrictive and comprehensive medical cannabis programs. However, researchers are “hesitant” to draw conclusions about the differences due to conflicting data from two analytical models.
For limited medical marijuana states, there was a “sizable decrease” in foster care drug misuse cases in the third and fourth year after implementation based on one difference-in-difference model, but that effect was less pronounced in the other model.
In contrast, states with less restrictive laws on medical cannabis legalization showed a “statistically significant and economic decrease” in the number entries in one model. However, data from the second model were less clear.
The study found that states that legalized medical cannabis saw a reduction in drug-related foster care placements in the first years after legalization, compared with states that didn’t legalize medical pot. “Estimates exploiting variations in state-level restrictions on medical marijuana are mixed.”
It continues: “The only states which have legalized marijuana for recreational use are also those who have legalized it for medical use. So, it’s unclear whether this decrease in entries is due to a cultural effect – marijuana is now accepted as a legal substance and is not immediately suspected when investigating allegations of child abuse – or a medical effect – marijuana can now be consumed legally but is less likely to cause abuse,” it continued. “We suspect that both effects are at work.”
A separate study, published in 2013, did identify a link between legalization of adult marijuana and drug abuse cases among foster children. Researchers at the University of Mississippi discovered that legalization of recreational drugs was associated with a minimum of a 10% decrease of foster care admissions. This included reductions of placements because of physical abuse, neglect and parental incarceration, as well as misuse of alcohol or other drugs.
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The article States that Legalized Medical Marijuana Saw a Nearly 20% Drop in Foster Care Cases for Parental Drug Misuse first appeared on Marijuana moment.
