Toulouse, France: Marijuana use is not an independent predictor of delinquent behavior by young people, according to data to be published in the journal Addictive Behavior.
Investigators at the French University de Toulouse-Le Mirail reviewed survey data from 312 high-school seniors. Researchers performed multiple regression analyses to investigate the potential contribution of cannabis use and other cofounding variables in delinquent behavior.
Investigators concluded, “Cannabis use was no more a significant independent predictor of delinquent behaviors after adjustments for alcohol use and [other] variables.”
Authors did cite an association between heavy marijuana use and delinquency, even after adjusting for other variables.
A 2007 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reported that cannabis use among young people was not associated with poor academic performance or deviant behavior. “Compared with abstainers, [marijuana users] are more socially driven and do not seem to have psychosocial problems at a higher rate,” the study found.
Responding to the new report, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “The moderate use of marijuana, even by young people, is not associated with delinquent, violent, or other anti-social behaviors. This finding was first reported in 1972 by the U.S. Shafer Commission, which concluded, ‘Marihuana (sic) is not generally viewed by participants in the criminal justice community as a major contributing influence in the commission of delinquent or criminal acts.’ This conclusion remains just as applicable today.”
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the forthcoming study, “Cannabis use and delinquent behaviors in high-school students,” will appear in Addictive Behaviors.