While an earlier CBS poll indicates that a majority of Americans think legalization of marijuana, and for both recreational and medical purposes, would lead to increased teenage use, a newer study conducted by the Univ. of Michigan insinuates the opposite. According to the annual ?Monitoring the Future? study, released on Dec. 16, teen marijuana use declined this year.
The annual survey found that 24 percent of American teenagers in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades smoked pot this year ? a two-percent drop from last year, and the first decline in five years, too.
This reduction doesn’t exactly indicate teens have reduced interest in marijuana, however. It could simply be that it’s getting harder to find. According to the study:
?Reported availability?is down significantly since 2013 in the two lower grades (and unchanged in 12th grade), which may help to explain the modest decline in use this year.?
Supporting that finding, the recent legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington made it more difficult for teens in those states to acquire any. Because it’s available for sale by specific retailers, then street vendors may be giving up the trade. And because the legal retailers require ID to purchase marijuana, underage teens can’t access it.
More teens find marijuana use acceptable, too, ?Monitoring the Future? learned. That study result could also of possible relevance to the recent legalization; if pot is legal, youth may find it less likely to be harmful. And as they get slightly older, they are more likely to try it, it seems. For example, earlier this year a similar study by Univ. of Michigan reported that marijuana use by college students increased from 30 percent in 2006 to 36 percent in 2013.
While teen use of most recreational drugs declined in 2014, there was a slight increase of cocaine use by the youngest and oldest groups.
In other findings, teenage use of alcohol and cigarettes sunk to the lowest percentage (48 percent and 8 percent, respectively) since Univ. of Michigan first conducted its ?Monitoring the Future? study in 1975.
Share your opinions on this topic on Liberal America’s Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.
