Cannabis legalization affects the habits of young adults more if they aren’t in college, according to a new study from Oregon State University.
Researchers studied 18- to 23-year-olds in states that legalized recreational cannabis. They were interested in how their marijuana use changed.
They found that legalization had little effect on college students, with no growth in frequent or disordered use. But both these categories significantly increased among those not in college.
The percentage of young adults outside of college who used cannabis in the past month jumped 5% in states where marijuana was legalized, according to the new OSU study. Cannabis use disorders also increased in that group.
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OSU psychology professor David Kerr is the study’s lead author. He said the resources that universities provide could explain the gap.
“The average young adult who’s not in college, who’s working, their employer probably is not making special efforts to dissuade them from certain types of behaviors,” he said.
Kerr said additional research is needed to find the true causes, as non-college students are understudied.