News » Study Shows Medical Marijuana Does Not Increase Teenagers’ Use

A recent study by Brown University has shown that the legalization of medical marijuana does not increase teenagers use of cannabis.

The study compared the rates of marijuana use in Maryland, where pot is illegal, and Rhode Island, where voters approved a state law allowing medicinal use in 2008. Aside from the legal status of marijuana, these states share much in common socially and geographically, making a comparison more straightforward.

The researchers from regardless of legal status, 30% of teenagers had used marijuana within the last month.

These results back up those found in a similar study conducted in California. That report looked at data from 1998 through 2004, and found that teenage marijuana use had actually declined 47% although Proposition 215 legalized medicinal use in 1996.

[source NY Daily News]

Tags: Brown University, marijuana, Maryland, medical marijuana, Rhode Island, teenager