There has always been the fear that the more you legalize marijuana, the more it seems okay for teens to take part in. However, it seems the opposite is happening as more states legalize and relax laws regulating the plant.
New data that the government released shows 12.9% of high school students have consumed cannabis in the last 30 days. In 2023, this was at 17%, and in 2011 the number was at 23.1%. Since 2011, that’s a 44% drop in teen smoking.
Of course, considering this is a survey the numbers are probably deeply skewed. But the methodology has been consistent since 2011, so even if the numbers may be off from reality, they’ve consistently been off for 15 years now and the reduction is real.
It’s a pretty astonishing decrease, especially as adult use has risen and overtaken alcohol in the daily-use category.
Most of the reasoning here seems to come from a higher wall of purchasing cannabis when it’s behind the counter of a dispensary. Contrasting that to purchasing from some shady guy on a bike and most teens probably don’t find the risk worth it.
These are powerful stats that go entirely against any argument that legal marijuana increases teen use.
Read the original article at Marijuana Moment.
