More than a dozen federal and independent studies conducted over the past 25 years demonstrate that decriminalizing marijuana does not increase marijuana use, the NORML Foundation announced today.
“Studies performed by the U.S. government, the National Academy of Sciences, foreign governments, and state legislatures comparing marijuana use rates and attitudes among citizens who live in decriminalized states and those who do not all determined that decriminalization does not play a role in encouraging use,” NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said in response to allegations made by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). “CASA’s claims to the contrary are baseless.”
CASA released a white paper Tuesday alleging that decriminalizing marijuana “lead[s] to more widespread use, especially among children.”
Presently, the possession of small amounts of marijuana is a noncriminal offense in ten U.S. states, and several countries around the world.
Testifying before Congress Tuesday, University of California Law Professor Robert MacCoun said that survey analysis found little difference in marijuana use patterns among decriminalized and non-decriminalized states. “Decriminalization [is] not associated with any detectable changes in adolescent attitudes toward marijuana,” he said. “Most cross-state comparisons have found no difference in adolescent marijuana use in decriminalization states.”
The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine released a report in March that determined, “There is little evidence that the decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use.”
A summary of commissions’ findings regarding marijuana decriminalization and use patterns is available on NORML’s website at: .
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.