Paul Armentano: In the era of legal marijuana, the kids are largely all right

By Paul Armentano

“What about the children?”

This was arguably the most frequently posed question by critics in the years prior to state-level marijuana legalization. Many legalization opponents presumed that legalizing cannabis for adults would undoubtedly lead to an increase in marijuana access and use among teens.

But 10 years following the first states’ decisions to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis sales, data conclusively shows that these fears were unfounded.

For example, data provided this year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the percentage of high schoolers who report having used cannabis over the past 30 days actually fell from 23% in 2011 to 16% in 2021.

Likewise, the percentage of teens who acknowledge having ever tried cannabis has similarly declined. These downward trends coincide with the period when over 20 U.S. states legalized cannabis use by adults.

States that have legalized the adult-use cannabis market have experienced similar declines in underage use. According to the findings of a 2020 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the adoption of state-level legalization laws “predicted a small significant decline in the level of marijuana use among (youth) users.”

Another study published in JAMA Pediatrics similarly concluded: “Marijuana use among youth may actually decline after legalization for recreational purposes,” since “it is more difficult for teenagers to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age.”

In fact, data from California, Colorado, and other legal states confirms that licensed cannabis retailers seldom if ever sell marijuana products to customers who lack proper ID.

Data published last year in the Journal of Safety Research reported that in California, where the adult-use market has been legally regulated since 2016, “there was 100% compliance with the ID policy to keep underage patrons from purchasing marijuana directly from licensed outlets.”

Data from Washington state similarly fails to find ill effects from legalization on youth use rates.

A study published this year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine compared whether Washington teens were more likely to consume cannabis following legalization compared to young people in jurisdictions where the plant remained illegal.

Researchers concluded: “Youths who spent more of their adolescence under legalization were no more or less likely to have used cannabis at age 15 years than adolescents who spent little or no time under legalization.”

In short, states’ real-world experience with marijuana legalization affirms that these policies can be implemented in a manner that provides regulated access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse.

That’s one among many of the reasons why public support for adult-use cannabis legalization has risen dramatically over the past decade and remains at record highs.

To date, not a single state that has implemented legalization has reversed course. That’s because these policies are working largely as politicians and voters intended – and because they are preferable to marijuana prohibition.

Ultimately, common sense regulation allowing for the legal, licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis best addresses adult consumers’ demand while keeping marijuana products largely out of the hands of young people.

By contrast, the continued criminalization of cannabis only compounds the public safety risks posed to young people and others by the unregulated marketplace.

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and co-author of the book “Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” This column was distributed by OtherWords.org.