This is simply not borne out by the evidence. We’ve shared results for individual states showing no increase – or a decrease – in youth use, but here’s a “meta-analysis” of the results of 11 longitudinal studies dating back to 1991 covering multiple states which have implemented “MMLs” (Medical Marijuana Laws).
“The meta-analysis included data from four large, ongoing national surveys of teen and adult drug use (Monitoring the Future, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, National Survey of Drug Use and Health, and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey).
Hasin and colleagues examined the reported prevalence of past-month marijuana use pre- and post-implementation of medical marijuana laws (MML), with states lacking such laws over comparable time periods serving as the controls.
None of the 11 studies found significant evidence of pre–post MML changes compared with contemporaneous changes in non-MML states for marijuana use prevalence among adolescents.”
Full disclosure, the group also found that the correlation between legal medical cannabis and opioid use reduction isn’t strong enough to be determinative, but several notes on that are a) the FDA thinks its strong enough to have approved a five year, controlled prospective study to measure the effect, and that should be underway by now, and b) many states with MMLs don’t approve medicinal cannabis FOR dealing with opioid use, so doctors aren’t able to specifically recommend it for that purpose, meaning that we wouldn’t expect to see the maximal benefit in those states, and c) individual state studies have found sizable effects.
#MMJ #YouthUse #Opioids #UTpol #PatientsBeforePolitics #TRUCE
See full article – Medical Marijuana Hasn’t Affected Teen Pot Use: Meta-Analysis
