Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Cannabis Use on Health

  • Published:
De Economist Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Chronic daily cannabis use has been shown to have long term harmful health effects, which in turn is expected to reduce labour market productivity. The evidence is less clear on the health impact of less frequent consumption, which is the more typical mode of use, and previous empirical studies fail to find robust evidence of an adverse impact of these modes of use on labour market productivity. This paper attempts to shed some light on this issue by directly estimating the impact of cannabis consumption in the past week and past year on health status using information on prime age individuals living in Australia. We find that cannabis use does reduce self-assessed health status, with the effect of weekly use being of a similar magnitude as smoking cigarettes daily. Moreover, we find evidence of a dose-response relationship in the health impact of cannabis use, with annual use having roughly half the impact of weekly use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Becker G., Murphy K. (1988). ‘A Theory of Rational Addiction’. Journal of Political Economy, 96(4):675–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmueller T.C., Zuvekas S.H. (1998) ‘Drug Use, Drug Abuse, and Labour Market Outcomes’. Health Economics, 7(3):229–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buddelmeyer, H. and R. Wilkins (2005), ‘The Effects of Smoking Ban Regulations on Individual Smoking Rates,’ Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research Working Paper, No. 13/05, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

  • Burgess S.M., Propper C. (1998) ‘Early Health Related Behaviours and their Impact on Later Life Chances: Evidence from the US’. Health Economics, 7(5):381–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Case A., Lubotsky D., Paxson C. (2002) ‘Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient’. American Economic Review, 92:1308–1334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crossley T.F., Kennedy S. (2002) ‘The reliability of self-assessed health status’. Journal of Health Economics, 21(4):643–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie J., Stabile M. (2003) ‘Socioeconomic Status and Child Health: Why is the Relationship Stronger for Older Children?’. American Economic Review, 93:1813–1823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deaton A., Paxson C. (1998) ‘Aging and Inequality in Income and Health’. American Economic Review, 88(2):248–253

    Google Scholar 

  • DeSimone J. (2002) ‘Illegal Drug Use and Employment’. Journal of Labor Economics, 20(4):952–977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • French M.T., Roebuck M.C., Alexandre P.K. (2001) ‘Illicit Drug Use, Employment & Labour Force Participation’. Southern Economic Journal, 68(2):349–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • French M.T., Zarkin G.A., Dunlap L.J. (1998) ‘Illicit Drug Use, Absenteeism and Earnings at Six U.S. Worksites’. Contemporary Economic Policy, 16(3):334–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill A., Michaels R.J. (1992) ‘Does Drug Use Lower Wages?’. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 45(3):419–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman M., Benham L. (1974) ‘Health, Hours and Wages’. In: Perlman M. (eds) The Economics of Health and Medical Care: Proceedings of a conference held by the International Economic Association at Tokyo. London, Macmillan, pp. 205–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall W., Pacula R. (2003) Cannabis Use and Dependence: Public Health and Public Policy. Melbourne, Australia, Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Haveman R., Wolfe B., Kreider B., Stone M. (1994) ‘Market Work, Wages, and Men’s Health’. Journal of Health Economics, 13:163–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler E., Angel R. (1990) ‘Self-rated Health and Mortality in the NHANES-I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study’. American Journal of Public Health, 80(4):446–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler E., Benyamini Y. (1997) ‘Self-rated Health and Mortality: A Review of Twenty-Seven Community Studies’. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38(1):21–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler E., Kasl S. (1995) ‘Self-ratings of Health: Do They Also Predict Change in Functional Ability?’. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 50(6):S344–S353

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner R. (1991) ‘The Effect of Illicit Drug Use on the Wages of Young Adults’. Journal of Labor Economics, 9(4):381–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner R. (1994a) ‘The Effect of Illicit Drug Use on the Labor Supply of Young Adults’. Journal of Human Resources, 29(1):126–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner R. (1994b) ‘New Estimates of the Effect of Marijuana and Cocaine Use on Wages’. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47(3):454–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner R. (1998) ‘Illicit Drug Use and Labor Market Outcomes: A Review of Economic Theory and its Empirical Implications’. Journal of Drug Issues, 28(3):663–680

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalant H. (2004) ‘Adverse Effects of Cannabis on Health: An Update of the Literature Since 1996’. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology, 28:849–863

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee L. (1982) ‘Health and Wages: A Simultaneous Equation Model with Multiple Discrete Indicators’. International Economic Review, 23:199–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald Z., Pudney S. (2000a) ‘Illicit Drug Use, Unemployment and Occupational Attainment’. Journal of Health Economics, 19(6):1089–1115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald Z., Pudney S. (2000b) ‘The Wages of Sin? Illegal Drug Use and the Labour Market’. Labour, 14(4):657–673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald Z., Pudney S. (2001) ‘Illicit Drug Use and Labour Market Achievement: Evidence from the UK’. Applied Economics, 33(13):1655–1668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macleod J., Oakes R., Copello A., Crome I., Egger M., Hickman M., Oppenkowski T., Stokes-Lampard H., Smith G. (2004) ‘Psychological and Social Sequelae of and other Illicit Drug Use by Young People: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal, General Population Studies’. The Lancet, 363:1579–1588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mensch B.S., Kandel D.B. (1988) ‘Underreporting of Substance Use in a National Longitudinal Youth Cohort: Individual and Interviewer Effects’. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 52(1):100–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Register C., Williams D. (1992) ‘Labor Market Effects of Marijuana and Cocaine Use Among Young Men’. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 45(3):435–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig M.R., Schultz T.P. (1983) ‘Estimating a Household Production Function: Heterogeneity, the Demand for Health Inputs, and Their Effects on Birth Weight’. Journal of Political Economy, 91(5):723–746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor D.R., Fergusson D.M., Milne B.J., Horwood L.J., Moffitt T.E., Sears M.R., Poulton R. (2002) ‘A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Tobacco and Exposure on Lung Function in Young Adults’. Addiction, 97:1055–1061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Department of Health and Human Services (1989), ‘Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking 25 years of Progress,’ DHHS Publication No (CDC) 89-8411. Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.

  • Van Doorslaer E., Gerdtham U. (2003) ‘Does Inequality in Self-assessed Health Predict Inequality in Survival by Income? Evidence from Swedish data’. Social Science and Medicine, 57(9):1621–1629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Ours, J. (2005), ‘Cannabis, Cocaine and Wages of Prime age Males,’ Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research, Discussion Paper.

  • Van Ours, J. (2006), ‘Cannabis, Cocaine and Jobs,’ Journal of Applied Econometrics (in press).

  • Williams J. (2004) ‘The Effects of Price and Policies on Cannabis Consumption’. Health Economics, 13(2):123–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. and C.L. Skeels (2006), ‘The Impact of Cannabis and Cigarette Use on Health,’ Research Paper 969, Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Available at http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/research/workingpapers/wp06/969.htm.

  • Winstanley, M., S. Woodward and N. Walker (1995), Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues. Victorian Smoking and Health Program, Australia (Quit Victoria) (ISBN number: 0646141031).

  • Zarkin G.A., Mroz T.A., Bray J.W., French M.T. (1998) ‘The Relationship Between Drug Use and Labour Supply for Young Men’. Labour Economics, 5(4):385–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuvekas, S., P.F. Cooper and T.C. Buchmueller (2005), ‘Health Behaviours and Labor Market Status: the Impact of Substance Abuse,’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Working Paper, No. 05013.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., 3010, Australia

    Jenny Williams & Christopher L. Skeels

Authors
  1. Jenny Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher L. Skeels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jenny Williams.

Additional information

Helpful comments on an earlier draft were received from Jan van Ours, Rosalie Pacula, two anonymous referees and participants at the 81st Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Williams, J., Skeels, C.L. The Impact of Cannabis Use on Health. De Economist 154, 517–546 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-006-9028-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-006-9028-8

Keywords

JEL Code(s)

Search

Navigation