Shawn GriffithsThe Guardian reported Monday on a new study that says there is no evidence that marijuana legalization in the U.S. has led to a spike in use among teenagers. Some opponents of legalization for medicinal and/or recreational use worry about the effect less restrictive laws could have on teenagers and young adults, suggesting that greater permissiveness would lead to an increase in use.
The Guardian reports:
Their paper in the journal Lancet Psychiatry
The fact that marijuana use among teenagers was already higher in states that legalized medical marijuana is still a cause for concern for some researchers.
“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,” said Dr Deborah Hasin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
Supporters of marijuana legalization, either strictly for medicinal purposes or full legalization, will likely find the conclusion of the study encouraging as efforts to legalize marijuana continue to grow in more states.