Study Finds that Cannabis Legalization Does Not Lead to Increased Teen Use

A recent study published in the scholarly journal Addicted reveals that the legal cannabis industry has caused increased cannabis use in adults, but not in teens.

The study references “cannabis use disorder,” meaning any of use of cannabis that is unhealthy or done by minors. It points out that not only are minors not smoking more because of legal changes, those prone to addiction or health problems from cannabis use are also abstaining. Additionally, the study revealed that only recreational programs are causing an increase in overall use. Areas with medical-only cannabis aren’t seeing more smokers over time.

“Our findings do not show increases in prevalence of marijuana use among adults in states with medicalized [cannabis] programs,” the study explains. “Additionally, there were no increases in adolescent or young adult marijuana outcomes following [medical cannabis] passage, irrespective of program type.”

Carried out by Columbia University, this paper refutes a different, recently published paper from JAMA Psychiatry claiming that, “the risk for cannabis use and cannabis use disorders increased at a significantly greater rate in states that passed medical marijuana laws than in states that did not.”

In addition to this new study, there have been six different studies dating back to 2012 that indicate legalizing cannabis does not increase teen use, or lead to an increase of “cannabis use disorder,” which means no increase in irresponsible adult use or those underage using cannabis. In fact, a February 2016 study, also published in JAMA Psychiatry, revealed similar results. They found an increase in cannabis use in legal states but not an increase in problematic use.

Overall, these recent findings solidify the concept that cannabis use will continue to go up as legalization grows, but without the problematic side effect of increased teen use or irresponsible use from adults. This is another important point in the case for making legalization accepted nation-wide.