What’s the Ideal Age to Start Using Cannabis? Researchers From Newfoundland Say They Have the Answer

Article by Anisha Dhiman, Growth Op

Researchers say the minimum legal age to buy and consume recreational cannabis should be 19 years old.

The findings were revealed on May 14 in a study conducted by a team from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

“What may be surprising is that several later life outcomes (mental health, general health, and cigarette smoking) from starting cannabis use at age 19 are not different than starting at or after age 21,” says lead author Hai Nguyen.

Determining the appropriate minimum legal age (MLA) for cannabis use has been a matter of huge debate since legalization.

Across Canada, Quebec is the strictest with the age limit set to 21, while the age to buy cigarettes and alcohol is 18. Other provinces have set 19 as the minimum age, there has been pressure to increase it to 21 in Ontario. Alberta, meanwhile, has the lowest age limit at 18 years of age.

The inconsistency and ongoing discussion prompted the researchers to look into it. For the study, 40,000 Canadians aged between 21 and 65 years were examined over the course of 12 months. The team analyzed the association between the age that participants first used cannabis and four later life outcomes: educational attainment, cigarette smoking, self-reported general and mental health. Other factors examined were the demographic characteristics, cigarette smoking status and use of other tobacco products.

“We found different MLAs for different outcomes: 21 for educational attainment, 19 for cigarette smoking and mental health and 18 for general health. Assuming equal weight for these individual outcomes, the ‘overall’ MLA for cannabis use was estimated to be 19 years,” Nguyen points out.

Read the full article here.