{"id":2555,"date":"2020-07-22T11:36:42","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T01:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/new-study-cannabis-normalization-vehicles-send-bad-message-to-most-vulnerable-our-children\/"},"modified":"2020-07-22T11:36:42","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T01:36:42","slug":"new-study-cannabis-normalization-vehicles-send-bad-message-to-most-vulnerable-our-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/new-study-cannabis-normalization-vehicles-send-bad-message-to-most-vulnerable-our-children\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study: Cannabis ‘Normalization’ Vehicles Send Bad Message to Most Vulnerable – Our Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

   <\/span>A <\/span>study recently released<\/strong><\/a> by the University of Washington finds that marijuana legalization and commercialization may have begun a reversal of previous downward trends in teen marijuana use. The study, which followed 230 teens and young adults, found that young people may be more likely to use marijuana after commercialization, due to normalization as a result of the over-saturation of stores, advertisements, and rapidly rising adult use of the drug.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe findings of this study are the canary in the coal mine. These data, coupled with recent national survey data from the federal government, directly undercut Big Pot\u2019s narrative that legalization has not resulted in a subsequent rise in youth use,\u201d said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)<\/strong><\/a> and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. \u201cWe have long pointed out that valid and trustworthy benchmark surveys have shown increases in use among youth. Ask any school superintendent in Colorado and they\u2019ll tell you they have been warning of this fact for years. Given the risks of serious mental health issues youth use can bring about, this is a concerning development.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Notably, this study supports another study out of Washington<\/strong><\/a> that showed increases in marijuana use among 8th and 10th graders, using data from the benchmark survey, Monitoring the Future. The study also serves as an important check on claims made by the marijuana industry, which often cites faulty statistics backed by questionable data to allege that youth use has held steady.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA teen usage rate that holds steady isn\u2019t good enough if it would normally be going down,\u201d said study author Jennifer Bailey in an interview with the University of Washington News. \u201cWe need to devote more attention to prevention of adolescent use in the context of legalization because we want to keep the decreases we\u2019ve been seeing before legalization was implemented.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Some facts on youth use and potential harms:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n