Posted on 07/09/2019 7:56:23 AM PDT by luv2ski
Legalizing pot does not appear to encourage teen use and might actually discourage it, a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics suggests.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 1.4 million high school students between 1993 and 2017, collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its Youth Risk Behavior survey. The results show teen pot use both before and after medical marijuana laws were adopted in 27 states, seven of which also legalized recreational marijuana during the survey period.
Teen marijuana use didnt change much after medical marijuana was legalized, they found. In states that legalized recreational use, the number of teens who said they smoked pot in the previous 30 days dropped 8% while the number who used it 10 or more times fell by 9%.
One theory floated by the studys authors was that teens may find it more difficult to access marijuana if drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age, possibly contributing to the decrease.
Eleven states and the District of Columbia have now legalized recreational use of marijuana, while 34 states permit medical use. Some worry normalizing pot will give young people the impression that marijuana is harmless. Plus, they worry that selling pot at dispensaries will make it easy for young people to access the drug.
The study estimates an association between legalization and teen use, not causation, meaning the study does not show conclusively that legalizing pot causes a decrease in teen use. Still, the findings are consistent with similar research that suggests teens might smoke less pot in states where medical or recreational marijuana is legal.
The study was conducted by D. Mark Anderson of Montana State University, Benjamin Hansen of the University of Oregon, Daniel Rees of the University of Colorado Denver and Joseph Sabia of San Diego State University. The research was funded by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health and the Charles Koch Foundation.
Though generally aligned with Republicans, the Koch brothers have split with the party on marijuana and some other issues. The powerful libertarian donors support states legalizing pot and criticize federal attempts to thwart local laws.
I call BS. Evidence?
You don’t even know what a contact high is. Admit it.
Me. Walking downtown in any major city, wading thru hippies blowing pot smoke in my face.
I’m not minding you. You’re just a contrarian.
That’s not a contact high, dude.
That wasn't a contact high - that was the power of suggestion. Experiments show that the amount of THC absorbed into the bloodstream from second-hand pot smoke is not even detectable much less psychoactive.
Trust me, I’m absolutely positive I know the diff between power of suggestion and a real marijuana high, contact or not.
But if it’s that important to you, I’ll let you win, dude.
I'm sure you are.
Just curious — how old are you?
Right! In addition to continuously raising taxes on tobacco, states are trying to raise the age of purchasing to 21......go figure!
Well, there you are, kiddo.
I was positive before you were even born.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teen-marijuana-rise-increasing-10-153828763.html
From June.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/potent-pot-vulnerable-teens-trigger-concerns-in-first-states-to-legalize-marijuana/2019/06/15/52df638a-8c9a-11e9-8f69-a2795fca3343_story.html?utm_term=.f72b35be3a96
145 days ago:
https://psychcentral.com/news/2016/12/27/marijuana-use-up-among-teens-since-legalized-in-colorado-washington/114378.html
Right now pot is not only legal but has less of a social stigma then even drinking does. OF course there will be more teens doing it.
BTW I would discount ANY reports commissioned by the state of Colorado. They will never tell the truth about use among teens or else they'd have to admit there's a problem with legalization.
From the second article you linked...
“The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, showed that legalization of recreational marijuana use significantly reduced perceptions of marijuanas harmfulness by 14 percent and 16 percent among eighth and 10th graders and increased their past-month marijuana use by two percent and four percent in Washington state, but not in Colorado.”
And the first article you posted makes NO assertion of increased use by teens.
And the newest data is what's reported in the article at the top of this thread - so there you go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.