Legal Weed Has The Effect On Teens Everyone Feared

29 Dec, 2016 by Sierra Marlee

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There has always been concerns related to legalized marijuana and it would appear that some of those fears have been realized, especially regarding teenagers.

Almost all teenagers at some point try marijuana, because it’s so easily accessible and not exactly difficult to get your hands on. Legalizing it has actually increased use among young adults, which is exactly what many thought would happen.

The Daily Caller did a write up on the negative effects that legalized marijuana have had on our children and it’s quite frightening.

Marijuana use is up by a large margin among 8th and 10th graders in Washington state since officials legalized recreational weed in 2014. Perceptions of how harmful marijuana is dropped among 8th graders in the state by 14 percent and 16 percent among 10th graders, leaving health officials concerned that legalization is normalizing the habit among children.

Pot use among 8th graders in the state increased by roughly 2 percent and by 4 percent among 10th graders. Perceptions of marijuana’s harms also dropped significantly in Colorado, but marijuana use among teens remained stable, according to a joint university study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study reveals a stark difference in teen use in states with legalized weed than states that still prohibit the substance. The annual Monitoring the Future survey in December, which relies on student self-reporting, found that marijuana accessibility and use are down among 8th and 10th graders nationally. The numbers in Washington are leaving health officials anxious over the potential unintended consequences of recreational marijuana legalization.

While I agree that legalizing marijuana is one of the few ways we can actively fight against the cartels coming from Mexico, it also can have a lot of side-effects on our society.