Cannabis legalization opponents often claim that the establishment of a regulated legal adult-use retail market will inevitably lead to an uptick in use among young people. But our real-world experience in legal states rejects this claim.
On election night in 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington cast votes to legalize and tax adult-use marijuana sales, making the two states the first in the U.S. to pass such an initiative. Since then, numerous studies assessing the impact of legalization policies on teens’ marijuana consumption habits have been published. The available data from these studies is clear and consistent. For example, data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control finds that nationwide cannabis use by young people has decreased since 2013.
A similar trend has been identified in data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to the agency, rates of past-year cannabis use by those ages 12 to 17 has consistently fallen since 2002, from 15.8% to 12.5%. Similar results have been reported by the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future program. For instance, their 2020 report determined that self-reported rates of marijuana use by young people have not increased over the better part of the last decade and remain well below levels seen in the late ‘90s.
Most importantly, rates of youth cannabis use have similarly fallen in those states that have legalized adult use. Specifically, a 2019 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that states with recreational laws were “associated with an 8% decrease in the odds of marijuana use” and a “9% decrease in the odds of frequent marijuana use” with the study’s authors concluding that there was “no evidence that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages marijuana use among youth.” The study also noted that estimates “showed that marijuana use among youth may decline after legalization for recreational purposes,” and that its findings are consistent “with the argument that it is more difficult for teenagers to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age.” A 2021 study published in PLoS One similarly reported that the establishment of adult-sale retailers is not associated with any increase in the percentage of underage youth trying cannabis for the first time.
Despite the facts and figures invariably showing that cannabis legalization does not lead to increased usage among young people, opponents continue to emphasize that cannabis exposure can be harmful to children — a point upon which we generally agree. Experts have long acknowledged that cannabis is a mood-altering substance with some risk potential, which is precisely why the market should be regulated and controlled so that young people will struggle to get their hands on cannabis products.
Legal or not, the cannabis market already exists, and prohibition only forces that market underground, where nefarious players are not held accountable. Cannabis legalization, on the other hand, enables legislators to put guardrails in place regarding when, where and how the cannabis market can operate. Legal parameters also provide regulations surrounding who can participate in legal markets and outline instructions for participants to engage in best practices. Another significant benefit of cannabis sales regulation is the ability for governments at the local and state levels to tax legal cannabis transactions and reinvest that money back into the community.
As an increasing number of states embark down the path of legalization, establishing a pragmatic regulatory legal cannabis framework that allows for licensed commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to adults will help restrict and discourage its use among young people and reduce the risks associated with the plant’s use. Advocating for cannabis’ continued criminalization, by contrast, only compounds those risks.
