The Impact of State Medical Marijuana Laws
Karen O'Keefe, Esq.,
Assistant Director of State Policies, Marijuana Policy Project
Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York
Bruce Mirken,
Director of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project
Released: September 7, 2005
Updated: June 2008, by Zane Hurst, Legislative Analyst, Marijuana Policy Project
The debate over medical marijuana laws has included extensive discussion of whether such laws "send the wrong message to young people," thus increasing teen marijuana use. This is the first report to analyze all available data to determine the trends in teen marijuana use in states that have passed medical marijuana laws.
More than a decade after the passage of the nation's first state medical marijuana law, California's Prop. 215, a considerable body of data shows that no state with a medical marijuana law has experienced an increase in youth marijuana use since its law's enactment. All states have reported overall decreases — exceeding 50% in some age groups — strongly suggesting that enactment of state medical marijuana laws does not increase teen marijuana use.
Download a PDF of the full report.
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