The Maryland Department of Health on Wednesday unveiled a data dashboard that gives new insights into marijuana use and its impact on public health.
The state's Cannabis Public Health Dashboard offers a variety of data related to marijuana use, including emergency room visits, calls to poison control services and the utilization of substance use services. Such in-depth data was previously only available for opioids.
“Monitoring the public health impacts of adult-use cannabis legalization, which took place just over a year ago, is essential,” said Deputy Secretary for Public Health Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman in a statement. “By tracking key indicators, we can create programs and resources aimed at preventing youth cannabis use, promoting safe storage of products to prevent accidental poisonings, and ensuring that existing services effectively support Marylanders facing adverse effects from cannabis use.”
The dashboard offers previously unreported data about the drug's impact on Maryland residents. For example, it shows that ER visits peaked in July 2023 — the same month that marijuana was legalized. The numbers have since moderately decreased.
The data dashboard also allows users to navigate the numbers by age, race sex and county. The localized data shows that, unlike the state, ER visits continued to increase in Baltimore City following legalization and peaked last month, coming in at 235.
Overall, Allegany County had the highest rate of ER visits in 2023, with 481.6 per 100,000 people, or a total of 324 visits.
That was followed by Baltimore City, which had 378.6 visits per 100,000 people, or 2,140 total. Worcester County had the third-highest rate, with 376.6 visits per 100,000 people, or 204 total.
Those interested in viewing the dashboard can find it at https://health.maryland.gov/dataoffice/mdh-dashboards/Pages/Cannabis-dashboards.aspx.
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