Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The coming debate over whether California should legalize marijuana would be improved by the use of the ultimate mind-expanding drug. By which we mean data.
Opponents of legalization are going to say that allowing recreational marijuana would end up harming young people.
But is that true, or is it supposition or propaganda?
The question has been tackled by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They used data gathered over 12 years by a study called the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Their findings were published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Although no single piece of research should ever be taken at face value, obviously these are serious people and their findings are worth breathing in.
Their key finding is this: Even though more and more U.S. states have been legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in recent years, fewer adolescents have been using pot or experiencing pot-related problems.
To put it another way: At a time when adult pot use has been rising, adolescent pot use has been declining.
That's quite a rhetorical blow to marijuana opponents who say they're looking out for the welfare of the nation's kids.
And it gives a lift to proponents of the marijuana legalization initiative that has qualified for the November state ballot.
That measure would propose to legalize the possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana by people 21 and up, and allow the state to regulate and tax marijuana commerce.
Despite the 21-and-up requirement, expanding the legal availability of marijuana for more than medical purposes would make it easier for kids to get.
The question is how big a problem that really would be.
To help answer the question here and elsewhere, the Washington University researchers looked at statistics from 216,000 people between the ages of 12 and 17, from all 50 states, between 2002 and 2013. That's a period during which Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana and three other states decriminalized it, bringing the number of states to decriminalize it to the current 20, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
What did the researchers see?
"We were surprised to see substantial declines in marijuana use and abuse [among young people]," study author Richard A. Grucza said in the university's account.
The number of kids reporting they'd used marijuana in the previous year declined from 16 percent in 2002 to 14 percent in 2013. The number with marijuana-related problems - like dependence or school trouble - declined from about 4 percent to about 3 percent.
Now, those aren't steep declines. And it's possible the declines have less to do with pot policies than with, say, better approaches to treating kids with behavioral problems that lead to drug or alcohol abuse.
But remember: Some opponents of marijuana legalization would have you believe that more-permissive pot policies will lead to a rise in drug problems for teenagers.
As Grucza said, "Whatever is happening with these behavioral issues, it seems to be outweighing any effects of marijuana decriminalization."
It appears legal pot won't mess up our kids. Remember that in the cloud of arguments for and against legalization that Californians are likely to hear this year.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Would Kids Be All Right If Pot Were Legal?
Author: The Editorial Board, LA Daily News
Contact: 541-753-2641
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Los Angeles Daily News
Opponents of legalization are going to say that allowing recreational marijuana would end up harming young people.
But is that true, or is it supposition or propaganda?
The question has been tackled by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They used data gathered over 12 years by a study called the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Their findings were published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Although no single piece of research should ever be taken at face value, obviously these are serious people and their findings are worth breathing in.
Their key finding is this: Even though more and more U.S. states have been legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in recent years, fewer adolescents have been using pot or experiencing pot-related problems.
To put it another way: At a time when adult pot use has been rising, adolescent pot use has been declining.
That's quite a rhetorical blow to marijuana opponents who say they're looking out for the welfare of the nation's kids.
And it gives a lift to proponents of the marijuana legalization initiative that has qualified for the November state ballot.
That measure would propose to legalize the possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana by people 21 and up, and allow the state to regulate and tax marijuana commerce.
Despite the 21-and-up requirement, expanding the legal availability of marijuana for more than medical purposes would make it easier for kids to get.
The question is how big a problem that really would be.
To help answer the question here and elsewhere, the Washington University researchers looked at statistics from 216,000 people between the ages of 12 and 17, from all 50 states, between 2002 and 2013. That's a period during which Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana and three other states decriminalized it, bringing the number of states to decriminalize it to the current 20, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
What did the researchers see?
"We were surprised to see substantial declines in marijuana use and abuse [among young people]," study author Richard A. Grucza said in the university's account.
The number of kids reporting they'd used marijuana in the previous year declined from 16 percent in 2002 to 14 percent in 2013. The number with marijuana-related problems - like dependence or school trouble - declined from about 4 percent to about 3 percent.
Now, those aren't steep declines. And it's possible the declines have less to do with pot policies than with, say, better approaches to treating kids with behavioral problems that lead to drug or alcohol abuse.
But remember: Some opponents of marijuana legalization would have you believe that more-permissive pot policies will lead to a rise in drug problems for teenagers.
As Grucza said, "Whatever is happening with these behavioral issues, it seems to be outweighing any effects of marijuana decriminalization."
It appears legal pot won't mess up our kids. Remember that in the cloud of arguments for and against legalization that Californians are likely to hear this year.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Would Kids Be All Right If Pot Were Legal?
Author: The Editorial Board, LA Daily News
Contact: 541-753-2641
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Los Angeles Daily News
