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Exploring the Impact of Medical Marijuana Laws on the Validity of Self-Reported Marijuana Use Among Juvenile Arrestees Over Time

NCJ Number
239086
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2012 Pages: 40-66
Author(s)
Riane N. Miller; Joseph B. Kuhns
Date Published
March 2012
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study explored whether the passage of medical marijuana laws in some States have affected the validity of self-reported marijuana use among juvenile arrestees.
Abstract
Past studies have found that underreporting of marijuana use is particularly high. The present study extends previous research that examined the temporal validity of self-reported marijuana use among juvenile arrestees. Furthermore, the present study explores whether the passage of medical marijuana laws in some States have affected the validity of self-reported marijuana use among juvenile arrestees. Using existing juvenile offender interview and urinalysis data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM) for the years 1998 to 2002, the authors found that the validity of self-reported marijuana use was low, but quite stable, over time even after the threshold for a positive test was changed. However, study sites in States that had passed medical marijuana laws had significantly higher validity levels than states that had not, suggesting that the passage of medical marijuana laws may affect validity of self-reported marijuana use. (Published Abstract)