A new study shows (again) that legalizing cannabis has no impact on youth consumption

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, A comprehensive report (from page 98) this Tuesday, May 15, 2017, which shows that in 2015, approximately 21.71% of adolescents between the 9th and the 12th grade, corresponding to high school students in France—that is, adolescents aged 14 to 18—reported having used cannabis in the past month, with no «measurable difference» compared to 2013 (23%), when cannabis was first legalized.

One of the great unknowns of the cannabis legalization has always been whether it would encourage more teenagers to use cannabis. Its opponents argue that the increased availability of cannabis and a lack of knowledge about its risks would cause its consumption to skyrocket, particularly among young people, the population at highest risk.

NEW Justice Department report: Youth marijuana use *NOT* rising in age of legalization. Actually going down some.https://t.co/Gkk9vdJzCe https://twitter.com/user/status/1747466040105587944

— Marijuana Majority (@JoinTheMajority) May 16, 2017

This latest study therefore informs these suppositions and adds to the previous ones which all showed that cannabis legalization did not push teenagers to consume it more. It would even seem that cannabis is becoming «less cool» among teenagers, as Vice notes, now that their parents use it.

Another survey conducted in Washington State In 2016, where the recreational cannabis market was booming since its legalization, 230,000 adolescents were surveyed. It ultimately concluded that the rate of cannabis consumption among young people remained stable compared to previous years, despite legalization.

In the United States, Eight states have legalized recreational cannabis. while a fortnight allows consumption for medicinal purposes.

Mehdi Bautier