Youth Cannabis Use Hasn’t Gone Up In Colorado

By Zachary Babin - June 20, 2016

Youth Cannabis Use Hasn’t Gone Up In Colorado

DENVER (AP) — Marijuana use among Colorado high schoolers has not increased since legalization. That’s according to the state Health Department, which released a new batch of youth survey results Monday.

The 2015 survey of about 17,000 middle and high school students across the state showed that about 21 percent of high school students reported that they currently use pot. That’s just a hair below the national average, which was almost 22 percent.

Nine of 10 Colorado high school youth said they don’t smoke cigarettes. That’s the highest rejection of smoking by high school youth in the past decade.

For the first time, the survey took note of the health behaviors of high school students who identified as transgender. Those students reported higher rates of tobacco use, drug use and bullying.