Consistent with prior analyses, researchers determined, “There was no evidence that RML [recreational marijuana laws] were associated with encouraging youth marijuana use.”
Tag: teen use
“Together, results found no net increases in cannabis or, through spillover effects, alcohol or tobacco use among adolescents in response to the rapid rise of RCL [recreational cannabis legalization] and RCR [recreational cannabis retail sales]. Results suggest that legalization and greater control over cannabis markets have not facilitated adolescents’ entry into substance use.”
Since the late 1990s, self-reported annual marijuana use by 12th graders has fallen an estimated 25 percent. Among 10th graders, it has fallen by 50 percent. Among 8th graders, it has fallen by more than half.
Monitoring the Future has released their 2022 findings regarding cannabis use rates for 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. The study found that rates for each cohort were largely unchanged from last year.
“Taken as a whole, these studies suggest that marijuana legalization has not had much overall effect on marijuana use by children and adolescents, at least during the past two decades.”
The enactment of laws regulating the use of cannabis by adults is associated with short-term declines in self-reported marijuana use by young people, according to findings published today in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
The enactment of statewide laws regulating the use and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes is not associated with increased marijuana use among young people, according to a review of relevant studies published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction. Authors concluded, “In summary, current evidence does not support the hypothesis that MML passage is associated with increased marijuana use prevalence among adolescents in states that have passed such laws.”
Colorado’s top doctor says that adult use marijuana legalization has not negatively impacted public health or safety.