Cigarette and Alcohol Use Down Among Teens. Cannabis Use Up [View all]

[RainDog]

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) survey includes teens in 8th, 10th, & 12th grades. Other drugs showing some evidence of decline in use this year include cocaine, crack cocaine and inhalants. Full survey here: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

The 17 states with the most usage among teens

1. New Mexico (29%)
2. Mass (27.1)
3. Rhode Island (26.3%)
4. Delaware (25.8%)
5. New Hampshire (25.6%)
6. Colorado (24.8%)
7. Vermont (24.6%)
8. Arizona (23.7%)
9. Montana (23. 1%)
10. Alaska (22.7%)
11. Hawaii (22.1%)
12. Maryland (21.9%)
13. Conn. (21.8%)
14. Florida (21.4)
15. Illinois (20.1)
16. Indiana (20.9%)
17. New York (20.9%)

Interesting that California, Oregon and Washington State aren't among those reporting the greatest usage among teens yet these are the states with some of the most liberal cannabis laws for the last 15 years.

Medical marijuana has been the law in California since 1996. A 2007 study from Texas A&M found “Our results indicate that the introduction of medical cannabis laws was not associated with an increase in cannabis use among either arrestees or emergency department patients in cities and metropolitan areas located in four states in the USA (California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington),” researchers reported in the International Journal of Drug Policy. “Consistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis laws, medical cannabis laws do not appear to increase use of the drug.

Abstract here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17689362

It might be more realistic to note that teenagers have gotten the message that cannabis is safer than alcohol or cigarettes. If cannabis were regulated like alcohol and tobacco, access for teens would be more difficult.

Paul Armentano weighed in on this issue earlier in the year.

In truth, marijuana use rates as a percentage of the overall population vary only slightly among states, despite states having remarkably varying degrees of marijuana enforcement and punishments. Several states with the most lenient laws regarding marijuana possession — such as Nebraska (possession of up to one ounce is a civil citation) and Mississippi (possession of up to 30 grams is a summons) — report having some of the lowest rates of marijuana use, while several states that maintain strict penalties for personal users report comparatively high levels of use.

quoted from this link: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/134069-drug-czar-blames-rising-teen-pot-use-on-medical-cannabis-laws-rather-than-on-the-administrations-own-failed-policies

The Marijuana Policy Project reported this from 2005: http://www.mpp.org/reports/teen-use.html

They look at not just current usage but overall lifetime usage among teens.