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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: Teen marijuana use declining as legalization spreads Oscar Pascual SF Gate Wednesday 25 May 2016 In a new study to be published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, researchers found that the rate of adolescent marijuana use has fallen as more U.S. states continue to legalize or decriminalize cannabis, ScienceDaily reports. “We were surprised to see substantial declines in marijuana use and abuse,” said Richard A. Grucza, PhD, an author of the study and an associate professor of psychiatry, in a press release. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis examined data from more than 216,000 adolescents throughout the entire U.S. collected over a 12-year span. They found that the number of youth ages 12 to 17 who had reported having marijuana-related problems such as dependency or trouble in school had declined by 24 percent throughout 2002 to 2013. During that same period, the rate of marijuana use in the same age bracket has fallen by 10 percent. Experts say that the drop is more related to a reduction in behavioral problems rather than legalization itself. As adolescents become less likely to engage in problematic behavior such as fighting or vandalism, they also become less likely to use marijuana, much less build a dependency. According to Grucza: “We don’t know how legalization is affecting young marijuana users, but it could be that many kids with behavioral problems are more likely to get treatment earlier in childhood, making them less likely to turn to pot during adolescence. But whatever is happening with these behavioral issues, it seems to be outweighing any effects of marijuana decriminalization.” “Other research shows that psychiatric disorders earlier in childhood are strong predictors of marijuana use later on,” Grucza added. “So it’s likely that if these disruptive behaviors are recognized earlier in life, we may be able to deliver therapies that will help prevent marijuana problems — and possibly problems with alcohol and other drugs, too.” While legalization itself may not be the cause of the drop in teen pot use, over half of the U.S. has allowed legal access to either medical or recreational marijuana throughout that time frame. http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2016/05/25/teen-marijuana-use-declining-as-legalization-spreads/
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