Ottawa, Canada: Rates of teen marijuana use in Canada have remained largely unchanged in the years following the adoption of adult-use legalization, according to data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports.
Health Canada officials reviewed youth use data for the years prior to legalization and afterward.
They reported, “Overall, there was no change in prevalence of past 12-month, past 30-day, or frequent cannabis use” among students in grades 7 to 12. Researchers also reported no changes in young people’s age of cannabis initiation or in the percentage of teens who acknowledge driving after consuming cannabis.
The study’s authors concluded: “The current study provides estimates of cannabis use among a large, population-based sample of youth in the Canadian provinces over a 10-year period. … [It] examined grade 7–12 students and found no change in past 12-month cannabis use overall. … Continued public education programs can help maintain and improve youth awareness of the potential harms of cannabis.”
Data from the United States reports nationwide declines in youth marijuana use over the past decade, during which time nearly half of all states have adopted adult-use legalization.
Full text of the study, “Changes in patterns of use. And perceptions of cannabis among students in Canada: A decade of data from the Canadian Student Alcohol and Drugs Survey,” appears inDrug and Alcohol Dependence Reports. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates.’