So much for that theory!
So much for that theory!
Up until about 10 years ago, laws against underage smoking or minors purchasing cigarettes were on the books but rarely enforced. In the years prior, the level of teenage smoking had been declining steadily, as it became less fashionable and kids were better educated about its effects. Then came the draconian laws, and guess what -- now smoking rates among minors are on the increase because of the "forbidden fruit" factor.
Laws forbidding alcohol possession/purchase by minors have, OTOH, fairly much have always been vigorously enforced, and anecdotal evidence suggests that minors find it more difficult to obtain alcohol than marijuana. So, IMO, "the best way to keep kids away from marijuana is {still} to legalize it and regulate it." This has the added benefit of ending the criminalization of adults for the sake of "the children" of Hillary's proverbial "village".
Like it or not, there will always be "forbidden fruit" factor among teenagers when it comes to age-controlled items. No matter how hard society tries to eliminate access of these items to minors, there will always be some bad apples that will get what they want. The best we can hope for is that kids get good information about the dangers of such things, not DARE-style lies and scare tactics that encourage experiments with "forbidden fruit".