Cannabis laws and social norms have shifted dramatically over the past two decades, sparking endless debate about the impacts on young people.
However, the data often focus on overall prevalence rates, masking critical differences across demographic groups.
Exciting new findings from King County provide reason for optimism while underscoring the need for tailored interventions to ensure equitable outcomes.
This analysis examines trends in cannabis use separately for male and female students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades from 2008 to 2021.
It reveals encouraging downward trends for both sexes amid surprising reversals in longstanding gender gaps.
Keep Calm and View the Data – Methods Summary
The findings come from seven biennial cycles of Washington’s comprehensive, anonymous Healthy Youth Survey administered in schools statewide.
Analysts from Public Health – Seattle & King County examined current use (1 day or more in the past 30 days) and frequent use (6 days or more) among male and female public school students in King County in 8th, 10th and 12th grades.
Models with interaction terms assessed sex-based prevalence differences over time, unearthing nuanced shifts in usage rates and patterns during this pivotal era in the county’s history.
The Ship is Turning – Encouraging Overall Declines
The outstanding news is that current and frequent cannabis use markedly declined among both male and female students from 2008 to 2021, extending promising statewide trends. Possible contributing factors include Washington’s trailblazing 2012 legalization of non-medical cannabis for adults ages 21+, which erected strict proof-of-age requirements at licensed dispensaries potentially limiting access for youths.
School closures and heightened parental supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020 likely also played a role in suppressing opportunities for adolescent cannabis use.
A Narrowing Gender Gap
For current cannabis use, sex-specific differences that initially favored higher prevalence among male students have dwindled since 2014 after remaining significant from 2008 to 2012.
This narrowing gap could reflect disproportionate impacts of early prevention programming among groups with highest baseline usage.
However, by the 2021 survey wave – for the first time in the 13-year study period – estimated current use was significantly lower among male students than their female peers, representing a complete reversal of the historical gender gap in this key usage metric.
Frequent cannabis use also incrementally declined for students of both sexes over time, but year-over-year prevalence differences between males and females persisted through 2020 before disappearing in 2021.
This delay in equivalence for frequent use suggests a need for sustained monitoring and sex-specific interventions even amid broader improvements.
Implications for Public Health
The positive top-level trends bode well for King County’s youth as the nation ventures into the great unknown of legalized cannabis markets.
However, the shifting gender dynamics sound an important alarm. Tailored prevention and harm reduction programs capable of addressing females’ potentially rising inclination for cannabis experimentation mustn’t be left drifting without a paddle.
Encouragingly, Washington is uniquely positioned to chart these unnavigated waters. But realizing the promise will require leveraging detailed data like these to keep equity front and center through cultural changes ahead.
But the voyage ahead looks bright for public health in King County and statewide so long as leaders stay the course guided by person-centered research translation efforts like these from Seattle and beyond.
