Newly published data by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that cannabis sales in states that remain illegal are associated with the highest rate of drug treatment admissions.
The data was published last Thursday and covers the year 2021. It shows admissions for substance abuse treatment among those aged 12 or older to facilities licensed by state. The SAMHSA report covers nearly 1.5 million admissions in the United States over the past year.
SAMHSA data shows that 10.2 percent of all admissions in the nation were for marijuana, hashish or other cannabis as the primary substance. This is the fourth most commonly used substance, after alcohol (34.8% of admissions), heroin (20.2%) and methamphetamine (13.5%). This is just below “other opiates/synthetics”, such as fentanyl or pain medication (9.1%) and cocaine (5.6%).
On a per capita level, South Dakota was the state with the highest admissions rate for marijuana.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Despite the fact that all but South Carolina and Wyoming allow medical marijuana, no state in the top 10 had legalized recreational sales by the beginning of 2021. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will all legalize adult-use cannabis by 2021. However, retail sales won’t start until later years.
New Hampshire, New Mexico, West Virginia, Montana, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania were the states with the lowest admission rates for marijuana.
Two states that will be legalizing recreational marijuana in 2021, Washington State and Oregon, did not provide SAMHSA with any figures.
During the peak of the coronavirus epidemic, treatment admissions were down in the United States between 2020 and 2021.
According to the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, admissions to cannabis treatment dropped by over 10,000 in 2021, from 141 091 to 129 343–even though more states legalized the drug. Treatment admissions for heroin dropped proportionally more over the same time period.
– The number of heroin admissions as a primary substance has decreased from 301 067 to 255 401;
– The number of admissions for marijuana was reduced from 141 091 to 129 343;
– The number of admissions for cocaine was reduced from 73 394 to 70 456;SAM (@learnaboutsam 1 December 2023
Admissions data can be a good indicator of substance abuse disorders but they are a messy measure. Treatment admissions are also affected by other factors, such as the availability of space and resources and how people are referred.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
In 2021, “self-referral” was the most popular way to refer someone to drug treatment. The criminal justice system was the second most common, but the procedures used to refer defendants to treatment differ significantly from state to state.
According to a study published in September based on SAMHSA statistics, referrals for marijuana treatment decreased more quickly after states legalized the drug. The authors attributed this trend to “falling cannabis-related arrests,” among those aged 18-24 years.
This study, which examined data from 2008 through 2019, found that referrals by the criminal justice system to treatment for cannabis-use disorder were already declining nationally – both in terms of proportion and raw numbers – even in states where marijuana was not legal. In states where marijuana was legalized for adults, referral rates to treatment from the criminal justice system dropped faster.
Researchers were concerned by this trend, which indicated fewer admissions due to the drug war. They said that admissions rates had fallen even though risk factors for problematic marijuana use had increased. The report recommends that instead of increasing criminal justice referrals to treat cannabis use disorder, primary care physicians, other healthcare professionals, and others should play a larger role in recognizing the disorder and referring patients to treatment.
In a separate study published in August, researchers found that referrals to foster care also fell after marijuana legalization–but only following the adoption of medical cannabis laws. The study concluded that states that legalized marijuana for adult use saw no change in the number foster care entries related either to teenage or parental drug abuse compared to control state.
A report from last year found a link between legalization of adult marijuana and drug abuse in foster care. Researchers from the University of Mississippi discovered that legalizing recreational use 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 imprisonment, as well as misuse of alcohol or other drugs.
A study conducted earlier this year showed that marijuana was “significantly associated” with reducing opioid cravings in people who use them without prescription. This suggests that increasing access to legal cannabis may provide a safer alternative for more people.
Ohio GOP Senate president outlines plan to amend voter-approved marijuana law next week, days before legalization takes effect
Martin Alonso is the photographer of this photo.
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