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Title: Despite Legalization, Adolescent Marijuana Use Hits 15-Year Low
Source:
Reason
URL Source: https://reason.com/2017/09/07/despi ... alization-adolescent-marijuan/
Published: Jul 9, 2019
Author: Jacob Sullum
Post Date: 2019-07-10 08:01:13 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 2366
Comments: 20
Survey data released today indicate that teenagers were less likely to smoke pot last year than at any point since 2002, despite the message supposedly sent by the relaxation of marijuana laws during that period. In the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 6.5 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds reported using marijuana during the previous month, down from 8.2 percent in 2002. That 21-percent decline occurred during a period when 20 states and the District of Columbia legalized marijuana for medical use and eight states legalized it for recreational use. Adolescent cannabis consumption is even down since 2014, when state-licensed marijuana shops began serving recreational customers in Colorado and Washington. So far Attorney General Jeff Sessions' fear that legalization would make cannabis more appealing to teenagers has not been borne out. By contrast, past-month marijuana use has been rising more or less steadily among 18-to-25-year-olds since 2006 and among adults 26 or older since 2011. Last year about 21 percent of the younger group and 7 percent of the older group reported past-month use. There is some evidence that marijuana is substituting for alcohol, since past-month drinking is down 8 percent among 18-to-25-year-olds since 2006 and 3 percent among Americans 26 or older since 2014. "Critics of legalization worry about the message being sent to youth by marijuana policy reform efforts, but the real message is that marijuana should only be used by responsible adults, and it seems to be sinking in," says Morgan Fox, senior communications manager at the Marijuana Policy Project. "Regulating marijuana for adults reinforces that message and creates effective mechanisms for making it more difficult for teens to obtain marijuana. Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and regulation gives adults the legal option to choose the safer substance."
Past-month cannabis consumption by 12-to-17-year-olds is down by more than 20 percent since 2002.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 18.
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
Shame on you drug pusher.
You just can't stop lying, can you?
It is a fact that you push for the legalization of harmful drugs. Do you think pot, heroin and crack should be illegal? Or are you pushing for them to be legal? Im right drug pusher and you are lying again.
You really have nothing to offer in a debate other than your repetitive lying about me. But go ahead - keep it up and keep looking like a 12 -year-old. Do you think pot, heroin and crack should be illegal? I believe that what we are doing now just isn't working. Other countries have legalized all drugs and with some good results. It's insane to keep pushing the same policies and expecting different results. Or are you pushing for them to be legal? No. I post my opinions which you don't like, too bad. You'd prefer the Duarte/Philippines approach - kill suspected drug dealers on sight.
You couldn't name one if your life depended on it.
In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to abolish all criminal penalties for personal drug possession, under Law 30/2000. In addition, drug users were to be provided with therapy rather than prison sentences. Research commissioned by the Cato Institute and led by Glenn Greenwald found that in the five years after the start of decriminalization, illegal drug use by teenagers had declined, the rate of HIV infections among drug users had dropped, deaths related to heroin and similar drugs had been cut by more than half, and the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction had doubled. However, Peter Reuter, a professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, suggests that the heroin usage rates and related deaths may have been due to the cyclical nature of drug epidemics, but conceded that "decriminalization in Portugal has met its central goal. Drug use did not rise."
#19. To: Deckard (#18)
The drug policy of Portugal was put in place in 2001, and was legally effective from July 2001. The new law maintained the status of illegality for using or possessing any drug for personal use without authorization. However, the offense was changed from a criminal one, with prison a possible punishment, to an administrative one if the amount possessed was no more than a ten-day supply of that substance.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest“We know from our research and that of others that heavy marijuana use is associated with poor academic performance and noncompletion of college,” said John Schulenberg, PhD,
#3. To: A K A Stone (#2)
Shame on you drug pusher.
#4. To: Deckard (#3)
#5. To: A K A Stone (#4)
Im right drug pusher
#16. To: Deckard (#5)
Other countries have legalized all drugs and with some good results.
#18. To: misterwhite (#16)
Replies to Comment # 18. In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to abolish all criminal penalties for personal drug possession, under Law 30/2000.
-- Wiki
End Trace Mode for Comment # 18.
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