Prevention Workforce Experiences Following the Legalization of Adult-Use Marijuana In Michigan

Background and Purpose: As cannabis policy continues to evolve across the United States, norms, perceptions of harm, and community responses to marijuana use are shifting. These changes may affect substance use prevention work, including how providers address marijuana-related risks (e.g., driving after marijuana use) and frame education and intervention efforts with youth and adults. This study examined how prevention work changed following the legalization of adult-use marijuana in Michigan. By focusing on the experiences of substance use prevention providers serving youth and adults through publicly funded programs, this study sheds light on how legalization is influencing prevention practice in community settings.

Methods: Data were drawn from a statewide assessment of the substance use prevention workforce in Michigan. Individuals working in publicly funded prevention programs completed a web-based survey assessing workforce characteristics, experiences, and perceived needs and opportunities to strengthen the prevention workforce. Among 277 respondents, 169 answered the open-ended question, “How has the legalization of adult-use marijuana impacted your work with youth?” and 167 answered, “How has the legalization of adult-use marijuana impacted your work with adults?” Open-ended responses were analyzed using thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke (2022). The analysis focused on identifying patterns in how respondents described changes in the context of prevention work, consequences for youth and adults, and effects on systems and prevention practice.

Results: Prevention workforce members described marijuana legalization as affecting their work with both youth and adults, though the nature and extent of those effects varied across settings and populations. Responses pointed to changes in three main areas: the context of prevention work, consequences for youth and adults, and systems and prevention practice. Respondents described changes in the context of prevention work, including greater normalization of marijuana use, decreased perceptions of harm, and increased access. They also described consequences for youth and adults, including perceived increases in adverse health outcomes and emergencies, cannabis dependence, self-medication, challenges related to substance use recovery, and consequences for employment and housing. Finally, respondents described changes in systems and prevention practice, including school-related concerns, increased prevention and education needs, and perceived effects on child welfare, the criminal-legal system, and other public service systems. Although responses varied, participants often described legalization as increasing the complexity of prevention work by requiring providers to address shifting attitudes toward marijuana alongside concerns about health, recovery, and service-system involvement.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that adult-use marijuana legalization has changed the context of substance use prevention and increased the complexity of prevention work. Prevention providers described changing norms, greater access, and concerns affecting youth, adults, and service systems. These findings suggest a need for enhanced prevention strategies, clearer public education about marijuana-related risks, and workforce training to support effective prevention practice in evolving policy environments. Findings also underscore the importance of adapting prevention approaches to better address the needs of youth and adults in the current context.

Note: We use the term “marijuana” to align with Michigan policy language and participant terminology, while recognizing its historical use in racialized and stigmatizing contexts.