How Personal Attitudes About Legalizing Cannabis and Corresponding State Laws Affect the Stigma of Cannabis Use

Attitudes about cannabis use (CU) are changing, as exemplified by laws in some states and the District of Columbia (DC) legalizing medicinal cannabis with or without recreational use. This study contrasts the effect of changes in DC and state laws with ongoing views of CU on the stigma of CU. Two hundred forty-six participants completed measures for this study. After reading a vignette about the current status of legalization across the United States, participants completed Likert-scale items that reflected their agreement with legalizing and stigmatizing medicinal and recreational use. Participants then complete the Stigma of Drug Users Scale (SDUS). Legal status of medicinal or recreational CU was not associated with indicators of stigma. Personal attitude about legality was significantly associated with stigma. Medicinal CU stigma was associated with the interaction of personal attitudes and actual state legality. Individual attitudes influence public stigma in states where medicinal CU is illegal, whereas in states where medicinal CU is legal, people's endorsement of legality decreased public stigma. Recreational CU stigma was also associated with this intersection. Although individual attitudes may not be overtly changed by their surroundings, the implicit effects and ramifications of such warrant our attention. There is also an opportunity to leverage environmental influences, for instance, strategically reconfiguring perceptions about institutional support, to optimize the effectiveness of interventions.