Denver, CO: The regulation of the adult-use cannabis market in Colorado coincides with declining rates of teen marijuana use, according to data provided by the Department of Public Health.
Data compiled in the latest biannual Healthy Kids Colorado Survey finds that the percentage of high-school students reporting past-month cannabis use fell 37 percent between 2013 and 2023. The percentage of teens who perceive that cannabis is “easy” to obtain cannabis fell by 27 percent during this same period.
Colorado was among the first states to legalize cannabis possession and sales for adults. The state legalized marijuana possession in 2012 and initiated retail sales of cannabis products in 2014.
According to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of high schoolers nationwide who use marijuana has fallen an estimated 30 percent over the better part of the past decade. Compliance check data from California, Colorado, Nevada, and other legal marijuana states show that licensed marijuana retailers do not sell products to underage patrons.
In 2021, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, publicly acknowledged that the enactment of statewide laws regulating the adult-use cannabis market has not led to an increase in the percentage of young people experimenting with the substance.
Additional information regarding cannabis and teen use patterns is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates.’