Impact of non-medical cannabis legalization with market restrictions on health service use and incident cases of psychotic disorder in Ontario, Canada

Original research
by
Anderson, Kelly K. et al

Release Date

2023

Geography

Canada

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

We sought to examine changes in health service use and incident cases of psychotic disorder following cannabis legalization, during a period of tight restrictions on retail stores and product types.

Findings/Key points

We did not find evidence of increases in health service use or incident cases of psychotic disorders over the short-term (17 month) period following cannabis legalization. However, we found clear increasing trends in health service use and incident cases of substance-induced psychotic disorders over the entire observation window (2014–2020).

Design/methods

Cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis using linked population-based health administrative data from Ontario from January 2014 to March 2020.

Keywords

Decriminalization/legalization
Outcomes
Hospitals
Mental health