From 2005 to 2022 in LAC, there were 331,515 ED visits that listed any cannabis abuse, dependence, use, or poisoning (cannabis-related) as a diagnosis. Cannabis-related ED visits increased 1,229% from 2005 to 2017, plateaued from 2017 to 2019, then decreased 18% through 2021 before increasing 7% in 2022. In 2022, the annual total for cannabis-related ED visits was 30,164 cases (Figure 1).
From 2016 to 2022, the most common diagnosis for cannabis-related ED visits was cannabis abuse (51.1%), followed by cannabis use without complications (34.6%), use with complications (6.0%), dependence (4.6%), and poisoning (3.3%) (Figure 2).
A total of 33,568 cases, or 10.1% of cannabis-related ED visits, listed cannabis abuse, dependence, use, or poisoning as the principal diagnosis (primary) for ED visits from 2005 to 2022. Primary cannabis ED visits increased 1,286% from 2005 to 2019, then decreased and plateaued in the following years. In 2022, the annual total for primary cannabis ED visits was 3,269 cases (Figure 3).
Compared to all cannabis-related ED visits, among primary cannabis ED visits, abuse accounted for a smaller proportion (37.5%), while poisoning (23.4%) and use with complications (23.3%) accounted for a much larger proportion (Figure 4).
Overall, young adults aged 18-25 accounted for the largest proportion (31%) of cannabis-related ED visits from 2005-2022, followed by adults aged 26-34 (26%), 45-64 (16%), 35-44 (15%), and youth aged 12-17 (9%) (Figure 5). The proportion of cannabis-related ED visits was consistently largest among young adults aged 18-25 from 2005-2022, closely followed by adults aged 26-34 (Figure 6).
Cannabis-related ED visits among youth aged 12-17 increased by 55% from 2021 to 2022 (Figure 6).
From 2005-2022, the proportions of primary cannabis ED visits were highest among young adults aged 18-25 (32%) and youth aged 12-17 (26%) (Figure 7).
Primary cannabis ED visits among youth aged 12-17 more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, surpassing that of young adults aged 18-25 to become the largest age group for primary cannabis ED visits in 2022 (Figure 8).
Males accounted for nearly two-thirds of cannabis-related ED visits from 2005-2022. However, the gender gap has been decreasing, as the proportion of cannabis-related ED visits among females increased from 26.9% in 2005 to 41.7% in 2022 (Figures 9-10).
Patterns for primary cannabis ED visits were similar to all cannabis-related ED visits, with the proportion among females increasing from 29.6% in 2005 to 46.9% in 2022 (Figures 11-12).
Latinxs (38%) and Blacks (33%) accounted for the largest proportion of cannabis-related ED visits in LAC from 2005-2022, followed by whites (22%). Cannabis-related ED visits among Latinxs increased by 11% from 2021 to 2022 (Figures 13-14).
Primary cannabis ED visits among Latinxs were much higher than that of other race/ethnic groups from 2005-2022. Primary cannabis ED visits among Latinxs increased 13% from 2020 to 2022, while decreasing or staying relatively stable among other race/ethnic groups (Figures 15-16).
Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI, formally OSHPD), 2005-2022. Nonpublic Inpatient Discharge and Emergency Department data 2005-2022. California Department of Public Health.