TY - JOUR
T1 - Cannabis legalization and traffic injuries
T2 - exploring the role of supply mechanisms
AU - Kilmer, Beau
AU - Rivera-Aguirre, Ariadne
AU - Queirolo, Rosario
AU - Ramirez, Jessica
AU - Cerdá, Magdalena
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Society for the Study of Addiction.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Background and aim: In Uruguay, residents age 18 and older seeking legal cannabis must register with the government and choose one of three supply mechanisms: self-cultivation, non-profit cannabis clubs or pharmacies. This is the first paper to measure the association between type of legal cannabis supply mechanism and traffic crashes involving injuries. Design: Ecological study using ordinary least squares regression to examine how department-level variation in registrations (overall and by type) is associated with traffic crashes involving injuries. Setting: Uruguay. Cases: 532 department-quarters. Measurements: Quarterly cannabis registration counts at the department level and incident-level traffic crash data were obtained from government agencies. The analyses controlled for department-level economic and demographic characteristics and, as a robustness check, we included traffic violations involving alcohol for departments reporting this information. Department-level data on crashes, registrations and alcohol violations were denominated by the number of residents ages 18 and older. Findings: From 2013 to 2019, the average number of registrations at the department-quarter level per 10 000 residents age 18 and older for self-cultivation, club membership and pharmacy purchasing were 17.7 (SD = 16.8), 3.6 (SD = 8.6), and 25.1 (SD = 50.4), respectively. In our multivariate regression analyses, we did not find a statistically significant association between the total number of registrations and traffic crashes with injuries (β = −0.007; P = 0.398; 95% CI = −0.023, 0.01). Analyses focused on the specific supply mechanisms found a consistent, positive and statistically significant association between the number of individuals registered as self-cultivators and the number of traffic crashes with injuries (β = 0.194; P = 0.008; 95% CI = 0.058, 0.329). Associations for other supply mechanisms were inconsistent across the various model specifications. Conclusions: In Uruguay, the number of people allowed to self-cultivate cannabis is positively associated with traffic crashes involving injuries. Individual-level analyses are needed to assess better the factors underlying this association.
AB - Background and aim: In Uruguay, residents age 18 and older seeking legal cannabis must register with the government and choose one of three supply mechanisms: self-cultivation, non-profit cannabis clubs or pharmacies. This is the first paper to measure the association between type of legal cannabis supply mechanism and traffic crashes involving injuries. Design: Ecological study using ordinary least squares regression to examine how department-level variation in registrations (overall and by type) is associated with traffic crashes involving injuries. Setting: Uruguay. Cases: 532 department-quarters. Measurements: Quarterly cannabis registration counts at the department level and incident-level traffic crash data were obtained from government agencies. The analyses controlled for department-level economic and demographic characteristics and, as a robustness check, we included traffic violations involving alcohol for departments reporting this information. Department-level data on crashes, registrations and alcohol violations were denominated by the number of residents ages 18 and older. Findings: From 2013 to 2019, the average number of registrations at the department-quarter level per 10 000 residents age 18 and older for self-cultivation, club membership and pharmacy purchasing were 17.7 (SD = 16.8), 3.6 (SD = 8.6), and 25.1 (SD = 50.4), respectively. In our multivariate regression analyses, we did not find a statistically significant association between the total number of registrations and traffic crashes with injuries (β = −0.007; P = 0.398; 95% CI = −0.023, 0.01). Analyses focused on the specific supply mechanisms found a consistent, positive and statistically significant association between the number of individuals registered as self-cultivators and the number of traffic crashes with injuries (β = 0.194; P = 0.008; 95% CI = 0.058, 0.329). Associations for other supply mechanisms were inconsistent across the various model specifications. Conclusions: In Uruguay, the number of people allowed to self-cultivate cannabis is positively associated with traffic crashes involving injuries. Individual-level analyses are needed to assess better the factors underlying this association.
KW - Cannabis
KW - Uruguay
KW - impaired driving
KW - legalization
KW - marijuana
KW - traffic injuries
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125636525&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/add.15840
DO - 10.1111/add.15840
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 35129240
AN - SCOPUS:85125636525
SN - 0965-2140
VL - 117
SP - 2325
EP - 2330
JO - Addiction
JF - Addiction
IS - 8
ER -