Longitudinal, population-based analysis of burn injuries across Canada pre-recreational and post-recreational cannabis legalisation.
Burn hospitalizations in Ontario children aged 0-3 jumped 100.7% coinciding with cannabis legalization.
Longitudinal, population-based analysis of burn injuries across Canada pre-recreational and post-recreational cannabis legalisation.
Recreational cannabis legalisation (recreational cannabis legalisation) in Canada was implemented in October 2018 following a federal announcement in August 2015, with commercialisation occurring in a staggered, province-dependent manner.
Periods reflected the recreational cannabis legalisation announcement (August 2015), enactment (October 2018), commercialisation (private retail expansion; province-dependent) and COVID-19 lockdowns as an effect modifier.
Burn hospitalizations in young Ontario children more than doubled immediately after legalization took effect.
There were 33 346 hospitalisations and 314 962 emergency department visits for burn-related injuries.
No national change in burn injury rates was observed post-recreational cannabis legalisation when all subgroups were combined.
National hospitalisation rates among males increased immediately by 20.6% post-COVID-19 lockdowns compared with the pre-recreational cannabis legalisation announcement period (level β=0.1561; 95% CI 0.0470 to 0.2652; p=0.0055).
Emergency department visits showed few statistically significant changes across periods.
Recreational cannabis legalisation-related policy milestones (including the announcement and implementation periods) coincided with increases in burn-related hospitalisations among young children, males and urban residents.
More consistent changes in hospitalisations than emergency department visits suggest shifts concentrated in more severe cases, highlighting the importance of targeted public health strategies and ongoing surveillance during evolving cannabis policy environments.