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Change in perceived risk associated with marijuana use in the United States from 2002 to 2012
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Change in perceived risk associated with marijuana use in the United States from 2002 to 2012

Jolene Okaneku, David Vearrier, Rita G. Mckeever, Gregory S. Lasala and Michael I. Greenberg
Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.), v 53(3), pp 151-155
01 Mar 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/15563650.2015.1004581
PMID: 25646638
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology Toxicology
Context. The role of a dynamic legal, medical, and social setting in affecting the perceived risk associated with smoking marijuana has not been well studied. We sought to determine whether there has been a change in the perceived risk associated with marijuana use over time. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2002-2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Respondents were asked to classify the risk of smoking marijuana. Regression analysis and the Mann -Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Results. A total of 614579 respondents were identified. Between 2002 and 2012, the percent of respondents who characterized regular marijuana use as being associated with "great risk" decreased from 51.3% to 40.3%, while the percent of respondents who characterized it as being associated with "no risk" increased from 5.7% to 11.7%. The percent of respondents who characterized occasional use as "great risk" decreased from 38.2% to 30.7%, while the percent of respondents who characterized it as "no risk" increased from 10% to 16.3%. There was a significant negative temporal trend in the perceived risk for both occasional and regular use of marijuana from 2002 to 2012 after controlling for age and gender (p < 0.001 for both). Increasing age was significantly associated with increased perceived risk for both occasional and regular marijuana use (p < 0.001). Males have a significantly lower perceived risk for regular marijuana use as compared with females (p < 0.001). Individuals who used marijuana during the preceding month reported a lower risk perception in both regular and occasional use. Conclusion. Between 2002 and 2012, there was a signifi cant decrease in the perceived risk associated with occasional and regular marijuana use. Younger age, male gender, and past month use were also associated with decreased perceived risk.

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103 citations in Web of Science
104 citations in Scopus

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