As more and more states legalize medical and recreational cannabis, teen usage is consistently brought up by prohibitionists. They say that usage will continue to go up because access will be easier and there will be no one to stop them from doing so. However a new federal study finds that this isn’t as true as some believed, including the DEA. 

Department of Education

The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NSEC) released a report that analyzed surveys from 2009-2019 collected by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. These surveys asked a series of questions about teen usage of drugs in an anonymous form. Students grades 9-12 (high schoolers) were asked if they had used, offered, sold, or given any illegal drugs on school property in the last 30 days, last year, or in their lifetime. NSEC analyzed these surveys and found that usage didn’t increase in states with legal sales. In fact, the numbers could be falling, and scientists aren’t sure why. 

Study

The biggest point of interest in this report is the timeline when the surveys take place. In 2009, when surveys were first conducted, there were no states with any legal recreational cannabis markets. About 21 percent of students reported using cannabis in the last 30 days. The biggest year for teen usage was in 2011, at 22 percent. That is only one percent higher than when the study first started. Legal recreational markets didn’t begin until 2014, three years later, in Colorado. 

Numbers have remained steady since the beginning of the study, with 2019 numbers also matching 2009 numbers at 21 percent. In 2019, ten states and DC legalized recreational cannabis use. Sales have yet to begin in states with recent legalization.

Response

While the increase in legalization doesn’t necessarily lead to increased teen usage, organizations are still concerned with the overall percentage. 20 percent equals one in five teens, which experts are saying is still too high of a number. Legalization may lead to an overall decrease in usage, as seen in Colorado teens.

Either way, “there was no evidence that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages marijuana use among youth,” one report said in 2019. “Moreover, the estimates reported in the Table showed that marijuana use among youth may actually decline after legalization for recreational purposes.”

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