Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization on Mental Health: Scoping Review

Recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) is expanding rapidly. RCL’s effects on mental health issues are of particular concern because cannabis use is more frequent among people receiving psychiatric care and is associated with several psychiatric disorders. The authors conducted a scoping review to examine the evidence and discern gaps in the literature concerning the effects of RCL on mental health and to assess the factors responsible for an observed heterogeneity in research results.

This scoping literature review followed PRISMA guidelines. Five databases—MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, APA PsycInfo, and Web of Science—were searched for English- or French-language reports published between January 1, 2012, and April 30, 2023.

Twenty-eight studies from the United States and Canada were found. The studies were classified by category of the study’s data (patients receiving psychiatric care [k=1], death records [k=4], emergency department or hospital records [k=10], and the general population [k=13]) and by the diagnosis (schizophrenia or psychoses, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and symptoms, suicide or suicidal ideation, or other mental health issues) examined. The review findings revealed a paucity of research and indicated mixed and largely inconclusive results of the studies examined. Research gaps were found in the examination of potential changes in cannabis use patterns among people receiving psychiatric care and in the availability of longitudinal studies.

Clinicians, researchers, and policy makers need to collaborate to address the research gaps and to develop evidence-based policies that reflect a thorough understanding of the effects associated with RCL.