Colorado Teens Smoking Less Pot Since Legalization

The Daily Caller ^ | August 08, 2014 | Greg Campbell

[Ken H]

Teen marijuana use has fallen in Colorado since the state legalized the drug in 2012, according to a new report, bucking a nationwide trend of overall increases in teen use.

“Thirty-day marijuana use fell from 22 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2013, and lifetime use declined from 39 percent to 37 percent during the same two years,” according to an emailed press release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Colorado legalized marijuana for adults in 2012 and statewide retail sales of the drug — which is still illegal under federal law — began in January.

Anti-legalization groups have long claimed that eliminating criminal penalties on adult use would lead to a spike in use by young people, but the opposite seems to be happening.

[doc1019]

LOL! There is that. ;-)

[Ken H]

saw in a report that vehicle crashes are up along with more babies being admitted to hospital due to idiot parents leaving brownies and their drugs about

FR thread from today =>

Since marijuana legalization, highway fatalities in Colorado are at near-historic lows

August 8th, 2014

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3190602/posts

[cripplecreek]

Yeah, its like claiming the Chicago crime rate is falling a week after they got limited concealed carry.

[manc]

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/topics/HealthDay684515_20140204_Fatal_Car_Crashes_Involving_Pot_Use_Have_Tripled_in_U_S___Study_Finds.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/topics/HealthDay684515_20140204_Fatal_Car_Crashes_Involving_Pot_Use_Have_Tripled_in_U_S___Study_Finds.html

car crashes are up

[Marie]

My favorite quote in the whole article:

“While the survey showed a non-statistically significant 2 percentage point reduction in teen marijuana use within Colorado, these results cannot be interpreted as representing an actual decline.”

So a decline is not a decline. Just like almost 18 years of cooling is not really cooling.

The prohibitionists swore that we’d have a steep rise and begged us to maintain the WOD ‘for the children’.

[manc]

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/topics/HealthDay684515_20140204_Fatal_Car_Crashes_Involving_Pot_Use_Have_Tripled_in_U_S___Study_Finds.html

This is more of a legit article form the medical press

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-marijuana-involved-fatal-accidents-colorado.html

The WP has hardly a significant study and seems to be pushing their agenda for a national legal drug.

[manc]

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-marijuana-involved-fatal-accidents-colorado.html

[RedMDer]

Free Republic 1st Quarter Fundraising Target: $85,000

Receipts & Pledges to-date: $36,428

42%

Woo hoo!! And the first 42% is in!! Thank you all very much!!

FReepathon day 38.

Two percent a day keeps the 404 away.

[aquila48]

You figure the margin of error has to be around 5% .

[Ken H]

Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities and Alcohol Consumption Study (Nov 2011 )

Using state-level data, we examine the relationship between medical marijuana laws and a variety of outcomes. Legalization of medical marijuana is associated with increased use of marijuana among adults, but not among minors.

In addition, legalization is associated with a nearly 9 percent decrease in traffic fatalities, most likely to due to its impact on alcohol consumption. Our estimates provide strong evidence that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74180276/Medical-Marijuana-Laws-Traffic-Fatalities-and-Alcohol-Consumption-Study

[Will88]

You figure the margin of error has to be around 5%.

I figure that whatever survey method used to determine kids marijuana usage is not all that reliable. Who knows how many joke answers are included. And a supposed drop from 22 out of 100 to 20 is not much of a drop, at least not enough to draw any conclusions about a decline in usage.

And 39% to 37% is even less significant and less a basis for drawing conclusions.

[manc]

exactly my point.
Medical press states crashes are up , and yet other media outlets state other wise.

My point is that it seems some are cherry picking and the survey done here is hardly a good one

[Marie]

The problem with that is that all they can say is ‘more people have tested positive for marijuana since the law passed’. You can test positive for days, or even weeks, after ingestion.

But, overall, fatal car crashes *in general* have dropped.

Will the trend hold?

Only time will tell, but (so far) it’s not the Armageddon that drug warriors feared.

[FlingWingFlyer]

LOL! Dang potheads will say anything to make people think that smoking weed is more popular than being an “openly gay” homosexual these days. Geez.

[bgill]

It’s not so cool since they’ve seen their idiot parents grazing around the fridge.

[Para-Ord.45]

Yup

I call Bullsh*t on this one

[Ken H]

Did you ever think you'd see a thread where prohibitionists are having to argue that a decline in teen marijuana use is not due to legal marijuana?

[palmer]

From your link: “Thirty-day marijuana use fell from 22 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2013, and lifetime use declined from 39 percent to 37 percent during the same two years,” according to an emailed press release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

A 2% change has very low statistical significance.

[Vision]

There is no way this story is true. News has just turned into propaganda.

[Ken H]

You should write to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and explain where they made their error.