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331513
Monitoring Possible Marijuana-Related Health Effects in Colorado


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Elizabeth Barker, MPH, CCRC, Environmental Epidemiology, Occupational Health and Toxicology, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO
Mike Van Dyke, PhD, CIH, Environmental Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Toxicology Branch, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO
Katelyn Hall, MPH, Environmental Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Toxicology Branch, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO
Kirk Bol, MSPH, CHED, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: In response to the legalization of retail marijuana by the voters of Colorado, lawmakers required CDPHE to monitor and report on adverse health events involving marijuana use. 

Methods: Staff analyzed hospitalization and emergency department discharge data from the Colorado Hospital Association and data from the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center (RMPDC).  Data were stratified by gender, age, race, ethnicity and county.  Rates of hospitalization and emergency department visits were determined for marijuana associated ICD-9 codes. RMPDC data were queried to assess counts of calls received regarding marijuana exposures. To determine significant differences in rates across marijuana legalization eras, a Wald Chi-square test was performed using logistic regression.  A Bonferroni correction was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. 

Results: There was a  three-fold increase in the hospitalization rates for children with possible marijuana exposures for January through June 2014 compared to 2010-2013. There were large increases in poison center calls, hospitalizations and emergency department visits observed after medical marijuana was commercialized in 2010 and additional increases after retail marijuana was legalized in 2014.

Conclusion:  CDPHE identified increased hospitalization and emergency department visits in the time period following retail marijuana legalization. Continued collection and analysis of the data will provide insight into specific health events related to marijuana use and the public health burden associated with retail marijuana access.

Learning Areas:

Clinical medicine applied in public health
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Identify possible adverse health events of marijuana use in Colorado following retail marijuana legalization.

Keyword(s): Surveillance, Epidemiology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was responsible for the management of the Colorado Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee meetings including participation in topic generation, technical expert engagement and management, and co-authorship of the final report entitled “Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2014. This report details the prevalence rates and adverse health events related to marijuana use in Colorado reported to the General Assembly, Board of Health, and Board of Revenue January 30, 2015.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4004.0: Marijuana and youth: risks, consequences, and impact