Binge drinking declines among teens after cannabis legalization

A recent study suggests a decrease in binge drinking in adolescents following the adoption of a cannabis legalization, But the researchers also found an increase in excessive alcohol consumption among adults aged 31 and over.

The study, entitled Recreational cannabis legislation and binge drinking in U.S. adolescents and adults, is based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the period 2008-2019.

The researchers found over this period, binge drinking decreased overall among 12-20 year-olds (from 17.54% to 11.08%) and 21-30 year-olds (from 43.66% to 40.22%), but increased among those aged 31 and over: from 28.11% to 33.34% in the 31-40 age group; from 25.48% to 28.32% in the 41-50 age group; and from 13.28% to 16.75% in the 51+ age group.

Binge-drinking habits among people aged 12 to 20 decreased by 4.8% after the adoption of cannabis use laws in adulthood.

The researchers note that «current evidence concerning the association between recreational cannabis and excessive alcohol consumption are still limited to data from a few states, small study samples and a national U.S. study using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)».

Instead, their study «builds on the existing literature using nationally representative data to investigate the potential effects of the changing cannabis policy landscape across all age groups using a comprehensive measure of state alcohol policies to control for differences in state contexts.»