Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado on Adolescent Emergency and Urgent Care Visits. 2018

George Sam Wang, and Sara Deakyne Davies, and Laurie Seidel Halmo, and Amy Sass, and Rakesh D Mistry
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado; Section of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado. Electronic address: George.wang@childrenscolorado.org.

Approximately 6%-8% of U.S. adolescents are daily/past-month users of marijuana. However, survey data may not reliably reflect the impact of legalization on adolescents. The objective was to evaluate the impact of marijuana legalization on adolescent emergency department and urgent cares visits to a children's hospital in Colorado, a state that has allowed both medical and recreational marijuana. Retrospective review of marijuana-related visits by International Classification of Diseases codes and urine drug screens, from 2005 through 2015, for patients ≥ 13 and < 21 years old. From 2005 to 2015, 4,202 marijuana-related visits were identified. Behavioral health evaluation was obtained for 2,813 (67%); a psychiatric diagnosis was made for the majority (71%) of these visits. Coingestants were common; the most common was ethanol (12%). Marijuana-related visits increased from 1.8 per 1,000 visits in 2009 to 4.9 in 2015. (p = < .0001) CONCLUSIONS: Despite national survey data suggesting no appreciable difference in adolescent marijuana use, our data demonstrate a significant increase in adolescent marijuana-associated emergency department and urgent cares visits in Colorado.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D002188 Cannabis The plant genus in the Cannabaceae plant family, Urticales order, Hamamelidae subclass. The flowering tops are called many slang terms including pot, marijuana, hashish, bhang, and ganja. The stem is an important source of hemp fiber. Bhang,Ganja,Hashish,Hemp,Cannabis indica,Cannabis sativa,Hemp Plant,Marihuana,Marijuana,Bhangs,Cannabi,Ganjas,Hashishs,Hemp Plants,Hemps,Plant, Hemp,Plants, Hemp
D002189 Marijuana Abuse Use of marijuana associated with abnormal psychological, social, and or occupational functioning. Cannabis Abuse,Cannabis Dependence,Cannabis-Related Disorder,Hashish Abuse,Marijuana Dependence,Marihuana Abuse,Abuse, Cannabis,Abuse, Hashish,Abuse, Marihuana,Abuse, Marijuana,Cannabis Related Disorder,Dependence, Cannabis,Dependence, Marijuana,Disorder, Cannabis-Related
D003120 Colorado State bounded on the north by Wyoming and Nebraska, on the east by Kansas and Nebraska, on the south by New Mexico and Oklahoma, and on the west by Utah.
D004636 Emergency Service, Hospital Hospital department responsible for the administration and provision of immediate medical or surgical care to the emergency patient. Emergency Outpatient Unit,Emergency Services Utilization,Hospital Emergency Room,Hospital Emergency Service,Hospital Emergency Services Utilization,Accident and Emergency Department,Emergency Departments,Emergency Hospital Service,Emergency Room,Emergency Units,Emergency Ward,Hospital Service Emergency,Service, Hospital Emergency,Department, Emergency,Departments, Emergency,Emergencies, Hospital Service,Emergency Department,Emergency Hospital Services,Emergency Outpatient Units,Emergency Room, Hospital,Emergency Rooms,Emergency Rooms, Hospital,Emergency Services, Hospital,Emergency Unit,Emergency Wards,Emergency, Hospital Service,Hospital Emergency Rooms,Hospital Emergency Services,Hospital Service Emergencies,Hospital Service, Emergency,Hospital Services, Emergency,Outpatient Unit, Emergency,Outpatient Units, Emergency,Room, Emergency,Room, Hospital Emergency,Rooms, Emergency,Rooms, Hospital Emergency,Service Emergencies, Hospital,Service Emergency, Hospital,Service, Emergency Hospital,Services Utilization, Emergency,Services Utilizations, Emergency,Services, Emergency Hospital,Services, Hospital Emergency,Unit, Emergency,Unit, Emergency Outpatient,Units, Emergency,Units, Emergency Outpatient,Utilization, Emergency Services,Ward, Emergency,Wards, Emergency
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000074609 Marijuana Use Medicinal or recreational utilization of MARIJUANA. Marijuana-Related Disorder,Recreational Marijuana Use,Disorder, Marijuana-Related,Disorders, Marijuana-Related,Marijuana Related Disorder,Marijuana Use, Recreational,Marijuana Uses,Marijuana Uses, Recreational,Marijuana-Related Disorders,Recreational Marijuana Uses,Use, Marijuana,Use, Recreational Marijuana,Uses, Marijuana,Uses, Recreational Marijuana
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults

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