Teen marijuana smoke down in states that allow it for medicinal use

[alp227]

When states debate medical marijuana laws, one of the issues sure to come up is whether legalizing marijuana for medical uses sends the wrong message to young people. Does legalizing medical marijuana create an atmosphere of permissiveness regarding marijuana? Does legalizing medical marijuana make it easier for kids to get their hands on dope?

Some of those questions are highly subjective and difficult to answer. One question, though stands out as being straightforward enough to actually study. That question is simply this: Are teenagers more likely to smoke marijuana after a state legalizes medical marijuana than they were before it was legalized in their state?

A study conducted by the Marijuana Policy Project in partnership with a psychology professor from the State University of New York has concluded that teen use of marijuana does not change much when a state legalizes marijuana. If anything, teenage use seems to go down.

In Colorado, the researchers noted that there is really isn’t enough data to reach hard conclusions, but the data they have shows that in 1999, 10.3 percent of 12-17-year-olds reported using marijuana within the month prior to the survey. In 2007-2008, 9.1 percent reported marijuana use in the same time frame. Colorado passed its medical marijuana law in 2000.

full: http://washingtonindependent.com/112978/teen-marijuana-smoke-down-in-states-that-allow-it-for-medicinal-use

[frylock]

1. the complete opposite of what was predicted by the naysayers

[just55650]

4. +1

[provis99]

2. too bad...nothing wrong with smoking pot...

[fredamae]

3. Another case to End Prohibition

The mystery is removed, Cannabis loses it's "forbidden fruit" status...then it just becomes the "old peoples medicine"...
Prohibition serves no one but those who enforce it.

[RainDog]

5. so, another lie from the Obama administration about cannabis prohibition

and another bit of belief that Obama has the best interests of the American people in play bites the dust.

If the federal govt. wants to keep cannabis out of the hands of minors, they should butt out of state laws concerning cannabis.

Otherwise, they're just pimping for special interests at the expense of America's teenagers.