No, Teens Don't Smoke More Pot In Medical Marijuana States

[madokie]

A new national report dispels the common prohibitionist argument.

The U.S. federal government stubbornly continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I substance with no known medical uses. While our government blocks all research on the potential benefits of marijuana, clinical studies in Israel, Spain and elsewhere confirm what patients in the 23 U.S. states with medical marijuana programs already know: it's a miraculous treatment option for many known diseases, with the potential to mitigate, and sometimes reverse, ailments ranging from cancer, PTSD and epilepsy to arthritis, skin abrasions, and chronic pain.

Since so many of the arguments against cannabis medicine are crumbling, marijuana prohibitionists are resorting to fear-mongering about the “safety of the children” to defend their position. They insist that allowing marijuana in any form will give kids the impression it’s okay to toke up, and teen marijuana use will spike.

But that argument is baseless, according to a new report by D. Mark Anderson, Benjamin Hansen, and Daniel I. Rees of the National Bureau of Economic Research. The report, released in July, shows that the presence of medical marijuana does not lead to increased use among teens.

As the report abstract states:

While at least a dozen state legislatures in the United States have recently considered bills to allow the consumption of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the federal government is intensifying its efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries. Federal officials contend that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages teenagers to use marijuana and have targeted dispensaries operating within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds.... Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that legalization leads to increased use of marijuana by teenagers.

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/no-teens-dont-smoke-more-pot-medical-marijuana-states

[Arkansas Granny]

1. And in their fear and ignorance concerning marijuana,

they completely avoid acknowledging that alcohol is the most prominent gateway drug and is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana.

[niyad]

2. are they going to do a remake of "reefer madness"??

[bigtree]

3. not at shop prices

. . . more likely their parents are more willing to step out of the closet and pay the 15_a gram or more to recreate their youth.