Cannabis Legalization: 22M US Teenagers Are Less Interested In Weed In States Where It’s Legal, Go Figure
With 24 states and DC now having legalized cannabis, 38 states having approved medical marijuana and the Biden administration easing the DEA’s draconian Schedule I classification, researchers (and probably far more parents) are wondering what this all means for our teenagers.
Despite the above list of legal access, it’s worth mentioning that no teenager can get through the door of any legal marijuana dispensary. However, we all know that’s not where or how kids get their weed.
Though some studies have indicated that marijuana use can harm the developing brain and many health experts worry that relaxing cannabis laws will increase usage among minors.
Rebekah Levine Coley, a developmental psychologist at Boston College, is less certain.
In April, Coley and her colleagues published a study in JAMA examining drug use patterns among 900,000 high school students from 2011 to 2021, using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. They found fewer minors reported cannabis use in states where it’s been legalized. That said, …