Research Shows that Marijuana is Not Dumbing Kids Down

The cannabis policy had a massive transformation between the years 2002 and 2013. Between these years, thirteen states passed medical-cannabis laws; ten states decriminalized cannabis use and Colorado and Washington became the first states to fully legalize recreational marijuana use.

Antagonists of cannabis legalization said that these alterations would result in awful consequences, especially for children: “But what about the children” was the common phrase that everyone was uttering. The president of National Families in Action, a group against drugs, added that recreational cannabis would “literally dumb down the precious minds of generations of children.” Psychiatrist Christian Thurstone, someone greatly against cannabis, said in 2010 that “the state’s relaxed laws have made the drug widely available — and irresistible — to too many adolescents.”

As a result of the massive legalization of cannabis laws and increase in public acceptance of the drug, you may suspect that by now we would be seeing more cannabis use, as well as more troublesome use, such addiction, and dependency, among the country’s adolescents. However, this did not end up happening, according to new research from Richard Grucza and his partners at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The amount of American adolescents with cannabis-related issues — such as addiction, or issues with familial and education due to cannabis use — dropped by twenty-four percent between 2002 and 2013. The overall amount of adolescents using cannabis fell as well. Finally, the adolescents who do use cannabis are less likely to experience issues because of the drug than those that were taking it in the past. Times have surely changed, and it turns out the enemies of marijuana were wrong

“We were surprised to see substantial declines in marijuana use and abuse,” Grucza said. “Whatever is happening with these behavioral issues, it seems to be outweighing any effects of marijuana decriminalization.”