Assessing the impacts of cannabis legalization on traffic-related injuries among youth and adults in Alberta and Ontario

Funding body

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Catalyst Grant

Background

Cannabis legalization has raised a common concern that such legislation might increase traffic-related harms, especially among young people. This study assessed the impacts of the implementation of the Cannabis Act on patterns of traffic-injury presentations to emergency departments in Alberta and Ontario. The study found no evidence that cannabis legalization was associated with increases (or decreases) in drivers’ traffic-injury presentations among youth (defined as individuals younger than the provincial minimum legal cannabis sales age) or adults.

Progress to date

The paper was recently published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.