title: Effects of minimum legal drinking age on alcohol and marijuana use: evidence from toxicological testing data for fatally injured drivers aged 16 to 25 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol and marijuana are among the most commonly used drugs by adolescents and young adults. The question of whether these two drugs are substitutes or complements has important implications for public policy and prevention strategies, especially as laws regarding the use of marijuana are rapidly changing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were drawn from fatally injured drivers aged 16 to 25 who died within 1 h of the crash in nine states with high rates of toxicology testing based from 1999 to 2011 on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (N = 7,191). Drug tests were performed using chromatography and radioimmunoassay techniques based on blood and/or urine specimens. Relative risk regression and Joinpoint permutation analysis were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 50.5% of the drivers studied tested positive for alcohol or marijuana. Univariable relative risk modeling revealed that reaching the minimum legal drinking age was associated with a 14% increased risk of alcohol use (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.28), a 24% decreased risk of marijuana use (RR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.53 to 1.10), and a 22% increased risk of alcohol plus marijuana use (RR=1.22, 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.66). Joinpoint permutation analysis indicated that the prevalence of alcohol use by age is best described by two slopes, with a change at age 21. There was limited evidence for a change at age 21 for marijuana use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that among adolescents and young adults, increases in alcohol availability after reaching the MLDA have marginal effect on marijuana use.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors: Katherine M
authors: KM
authors: Keyes
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10032, USA ; Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Joanne E
authors: JE
authors: Brady
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10032, USA ; Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Guohua
authors: G
authors: Li
keywords: Alcohol; Complements; FARS; Marijuana; Minimum legal drinking age; Substitution