With more states legalizing medicinal marijuana, some may think illegal consumption among adolescents is also increasing. Luckily, this is simply not the case according to recent data published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, which shows that while medicinal marijuana use is increasing among adults, adolescents use has not been impacted.
“Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggest that, over the past decade, marijuana use has increased significantly among adults aged 18 to 25 and those aged 26 years and older. These trends appear to have begun before 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana.
Meanwhile, marijuana use by youth aged 12 to 17 has not increased significantly. However, young people’s perceptions of the risks of using marijuana have decreased, suggesting that they may be more likely to start using marijuana in the future.”
“The review by Jane C. Maxwell, PhD, of The University of Texas at Austin and Bruce Mendelson, MPA, of the Denver Office of Drug Strategy gives insights into the initial impact of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in some states.”
Read the full study, Published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine titled, “What do we know now about the impact of the laws related to marijuana?”
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