Medical Marijuana Dispensary Access Linked to Reduction in Poor Mental Health Among Older Adults, Government-Funded Study Finds
- Access to medical marijuana dispensaries within a 30-minute drive was linked to a 3.77 percentage point (15%) reduction in self-reported poor mental health days among adults aged 65 and older in New York.
- The study analyzed data from the New York Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2011-2021) using ZIP codes to compare mental health outcomes based on proximity to dispensaries.
- Researchers employed a difference-in-differences model to account for dispensary openings across locations and times, focusing on geographic access rather than individual marijuana use.
- No negative effects on mental health were found for the overall adult population, and the study concluded that medical marijuana availability positively impacts older adults' mental health.
Access to medical marijuana dispensaries was associated with significantly improved self-reported mental health among older adults in New York, according to a study published in Economics Letters.
Researchers found that having a medical marijuana dispensary within a 30-minute drive reduced the likelihood that adults aged 65 and older reported experiencing any poor mental health days during the previous month by 3.77 percentage points. That represents a nearly 15% reduction from the baseline rate of 25.4%.
The study, titled Medical Cannabis Dispensary Availability Improved Self-Reported Mental Health Among Older Adults in New York, was conducted by researchers affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Kansas Department of Economics, the National Bureau of Economic Research and the IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
Researchers analyzed data from the New York Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System covering 2011 through 2021. Because the state data included respondents’ ZIP codes, the researchers were able to compare mental health outcomes based on whether a medical marijuana dispensary was operating within a 30-minute drive.
The analysis used a two-stage difference-in-differences model designed to account for dispensaries opening in different locations at different times. The study examined geographic access to medical marijuana rather than whether individual respondents personally used marijuana.
In addition to the improvement identified among older adults, researchers found no evidence that medical marijuana dispensary availability negatively affected the likelihood of reporting poor mental health days among the overall adult population.
“First, we find medical cannabis availability led to a 3.77 percentage point decrease in persons aged 65 and above reporting having any past-month poor mental health days, a 15% decrease from a baseline of 25.4%,” researchers wrote.
The findings indicate that the availability of medical marijuana “has positive mental health impacts for older populations,” according to the study’s conclusion.