Despite all the claims by pundits and governmental agencies, a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry shows no evidence linking the legalization of medical weed in the U.S. with an increase in teenage cannabis use. According to Science Daily, researchers analyzed “24 years of data (1991 to 2014) from over one million American adolescents in the 48 contiguous states.”
The data was compiled by Columbia University professor Dr. Deborah Hasin (and colleagues) and contradicts talking points from legalization opponents and common sense. One would assume that increased access to all this amazing weed — and it really is amazing — would lead to an uptick in pot experimentation, but alas, nope.
“Our findings provide the strongest evidence to date that marijuana use by teenagers does not increase after a state legalises medical marijuana,” said Hasin. “Rather, up to now, in the states that passed medical marijuana laws, adolescent marijuana use was already higher than in other states. Because early adolescent use of marijuana can lead to many long-term harmful outcomes, identifying the factors that actually play a role in adolescent use should be a high research priority.”
(Photo: Dank Depot)
