How many more young Australians say that they would use cannabis if it were legal?

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

The potential for increased cannabis use by young people after legalisation remains a key concern of opponents of legalisation. This study used survey data to estimate how many young Australians may be prepared to use cannabis if it became legally available.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study included 3052 youths (adolescents aged 12-17 and young adults aged 18-25 years) in Australia who participated in the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey. Incident cases were estimated by multiplying the prevalence and estimated population sizes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

RESULTS

It was estimated that 17% of adolescents would try (13%) or use (4%), and 32% of young adults would try (15%) or use (17%) cannabis if it were legal. Among those who reported an intention to try it, 85% of adolescents and 59% of young adults had never used cannabis. These translate to 199 000 and 238 000 potential initiators, respectively. Among those with an intention to use cannabis, 21% of adolescents and 3% of young adults had never used cannabis. These translate to 14 000 adolescents and 12 000 young adults who intended to use cannabis if it were legal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

A substantial minority of young Australians say that they would use cannabis for the first time if it were legalised. A proportion of young people who have used cannabis also expressed an interest in increasing their use. Both would warrant special attention if cannabis were legalised.