Children’s asthma appears to be increasing in states that have legalized cannabis, according to a study published in Preventive Medicine. Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, and colleagues examined the relationship between cannabis legalization for medical or recreational use and the state-level prevalence of asthma among
children in the United States. The analysis included data from the National Survey on Children’s Health (2011-2019). A statistically significant decrease of 1.1% was observed in the prevalence of pediatric asthma from 2011-2012 to 2018-2019. Overall reductions in asthma over time were generally greater in states with no cannabis legalization when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, but the rate of decline did not differ statistically by recreational or medical legalization status. The prevalence of asthma increased among youth aged 12-17 (2018-2019 difference-in-difference [DID], 2.56) and youth in some minoritized race/ ethnicity identity groups (2016-2017 DID, 3.88; 2018-2019 DID, 4.45) in states with recreational legalization, relative to 2011-2012 and to states where cannabis is illegal at the state level.
