Two Brown University professors are pioneering research on marijuana messaging, backed by a 5-year National Institute on Drug Abuse award of nearly $3.5 million.
The study aims to broaden understanding of what shapes motives for using marijuana – which remains a federally illegal substance – amid surging interest in the United States.
According to Pew Research, 91% of American support legalizing recreational and/or medical marijuana use, with 60% supporting both. Thirty-seven states allow at least medical use of marijuana and 19 states have voted to legalize recreational use in the last decade, with Rhode Island doing so this year. Six ballot initiatives — in South Dakota, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma — could make recreational use legal in up to 25 states.
Though cannabis is perceived as offering therapeutic benefits or being of low health risk, Brown researchers Kristina Jackson and Jane Metrik underscore that evidence remains elusive. “There’s an artificial divide between therapeutic and recreational use,” said Jackson, professor of behavioral and social sciences. A user may self-medicate for sleep and use cannabis to be more social.