Marijuana Use, Sexual Activity, and Child Birth: The Unintended Fertility Consequences of Medical Marijuana Laws

Conventional wisdom suggests that sex and drug use are complimentary activities. However, there is little causal evidence of the impact of drug use on sexual activity, risky sex, and resulting fertility. Using the passage of medical marijuana laws as plausibly exogenous decrease in the cost of marijuana we document that marijuana use, sexual activity, and fertility all increase following the liberalization of marijuana policies. Strikingly, we find that the general birth rate increases by approximately 2%. Doing a subgroup analysis we also find larger fertility effects on births to black, unmarried, and younger mothers. These findings have implications for demographic change and the potential unintended consequences of medical marijuana laws.