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Here are some highlights from the Chicago Tribune article:
"But there’s now substantial evidence that demand has indeed increased. Massively.
"A new study supported by the National Institutes for Health has found that marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached an all-time high last year. According to the study, the proportion of young adults who reported using marijuana reached 43% in 2021, a big increase from 34% in 2016 and just 29% in 2011. Among college students, it was even higher.
"Almost 30% of young adults said they had used weed in the last month, as compared with just 21% in 2016 and 17% in 2011. Perhaps most striking of all, 11% of young adults reported using marijuana every day, compared with 8% in 2016 and 6% in 2011..."
"But one thing Illinois and other states where weed is legal now cannot deny is that usage is rising very fast, especially among the young. And that the legalization process, wherein outlets have proliferated and can now be found in numerous convenient locations, has stimulated that demand..."
"There are two separate issues here that should be openly discussed.
"There is the matter of decriminalization, for which there is an excellent case.
"And then there is the distinct matter of whether this new industry should be allowed to be so successful as to dominate the vistas of the interstates and spark the kind of increase in demand for its products the NIH-supported study revealed.
"If alcohol use were rising at this level, there would be legitimate public health concerns. Cannabis should not be exempt from the same conversations."
Click here to read the rest of the piece on the Chicago Tribune website
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