The American Medical Association (AMA) conducted research looking into adolescent and teenage cannabis usage from 1993 to 2019. The data came from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in ten medical or recreational legalized states. The AMA concluded that there adolescent cannabis usage change in legalized states is “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”

Furthermore, the AMA said that “medical marijuana law (MML) adoption was associated with a 6% decrease in the odds of current marijuana use and a 7% decrease in the odds of frequent marijuana use.”

This shows that adolescent cannabis usage actually decreased over time as more states legalized different stages of cannabis. “Consistent with estimates from prior studies, there was little evidence that RMLs (recreational marijuana law) or MMLs encourage youth marijuana use,” the research study concluded. “As more post-legalization data become available, researchers will be able to draw firmer conclusions about the relationship between RMLs and adolescent marijuana use.”

Activists

Cannabis activists have said for years that legalization won’t increase adolescent usage. Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) discussed the data. “This study provides additional evidence that legalizing and regulating cannabis does not result in increased rates of use among teens. In fact, it suggests that cannabis legalization laws might be decreasing teen use. 

“That makes sense because legal cannabis businesses are required to strictly check the IDs of their customers,” he continued. “The unregulated market, which prohibitionists are effectively trying to sustain, lacks such protections.”

This isn’t the first study from a federal organization to find these results. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NSEC) came to the same conclusion as the AMA back in May. There has been a significant decrease in cannabis use in adolescents since legalization became more common. 

Response

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow also acknowledged that legalization hasn’t led to an increase in adolescent usage. Federal laws and regulations have previously hindered scientific research, especially surrounding the plant’s therapeutic efficacy. With this knowledge of decreased teenage usage, there could soon be a change in research laws, the director believes.

This study from the AMA, as well as the previous one from the U.S. Department of Education, shows cannabis legalization does not correlate with an increase in adolescent and teenage usage. In fact, there could be a decrease in usage. These findings could potentially push lawmakers to approve of further legalization and research efforts. Only time will tell.

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.