To study the association between marijuana use and mental health, we used data from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This nationwide study is sponsored by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality within the Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is performed annually. It collects up-to-date information on tobacco, alcohol, drug use, mental health and other health-related issues in the general population in the US. Every year, NSDUH interviews approximately 70,000 people aged 12 and older. Based on the data collected, NSDUH aims to :
We picked the 2019 NSDUH, since it is the newest published
version besides the 2020 data. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SAMHSA
suspended in-person data collection on the 2020 NSDUH on March 16, 2020.
For the purpose of data collection, a small-scale in-person data
collection was conducted in selected counties of two states from July 16
to July 22, 2020, with approval. Also, on September 11, 2020, SAMHSA
approved a web-based survey. As NSDUH claimed, in-person and web-based
data collections yielded differences in response and non-response
patterns. Consequently, we highly question the representativity of the
2020 data. We believe the 2019 data can give us a more accurate
and comprehensive idea about the prevalence and association between
marijuana use and mental health.
We will attach the used 2019 code book below. The dataset is downloadable in various forms, including SAS, STATA, R etc. Click here.