Dear Friend,
Yesterday, a massive new study was published in one of the most prestigious journals in the pediatric world, the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study found that state legalization of recreational marijuana increases the likelihood of marijuana use in the past month among youth and young adults. Past-month use is a much clearer indicator of frequent use than “lifetime use” or “past-year use.”
The systematic review titled “Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Medical and Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Cannabis Use Among Youth in the United States” found that recreational marijuana legalization increases the odds of past-month marijuana use by 13% among youth and 22% among young adults.
This is not just one study saying that use goes up after legalization, this is a systematic review of the published data on this topic. Because systematic reviews take an exhaustive look at available research and use a transparent, repeatable approach to review studies, they minimize bias and are highly regarded among researchers.
This study directly contradicts the marijuana industry talking point that legalization does not increase youth use.
Friend-I want to be clear: this is not just numbers on a spreadsheet, this research represents the real lives that are impacted by marijuana legalization. This study is devastating and monumental and it's absolutely NOT good news.
The increase in use is something we’ve unfortunately seen time and time again after states legalize marijuana. With each passing day, the science becomes clearer that marijuana commercialization is damaging public health. This study validates what public health advocates have been saying for years: legalizing and normalizing marijuana increases use—specifically, youth use. The marijuana industry has targeted our children for years, aggressively marketing kid-friendly, high-potency THC drugs across the country.
Unfortunately, the marijuana industry relies on legalization driving up youth use. By hooking a new generation of users, Big Marijuana ensures that its addiction-for-profit scheme is successful. Today’s marijuana is not the Woodstock Weed of the 1970s; marijuana dispensaries are selling dangerous products with upwards of 99% THC potency.
We are not rejoicing. These are real lives we are talking about. Real families. Pushing back against legalization is not only key to reducing youth marijuana use, but also to protecting families and individuals around the nation.
With your support, we can continue our work to educate on the harms of legalizing and normalizing marijuana. Please consider donating to our work today.
