Marijuana Legalization Expected to Increase Use Among High School Students

Based on the growing prevalence of legalized marijuana, the New York University's Center for Drug Use and HIV Research conducted a study to determine the effects of the legalization of marijuana in two states and its decriminalization in 15 states. 

The study sought to examine high school students who are at a low risk for using marijuana, which the researchers identify as non-cigarette smokers, religious students, those with friends who disapprove of use, etc. The focus was to find whether or not these types of students would be more inclined to experiment with marijuana if it were legalized in their state.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) sheds some light on interesting statistics regarding the use of marijuana on their website. They mention that marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug and that it is estimated to have been used by almost 100 million Americans. Additionally, nearly 25 million people have smoked it in the past year and more than 14 million continue to smoke it despite it being illegal in most places. Such statistics are a concern for the youths of America.

NYU's study entitled "Correlates of Intentions to Use Cannabis Among U.S. High School Seniors in the Case of Cannabis Legalization" was published in the International Journal of Drug Policy. The researchers used data provided by Monitoring the Future (MTF), which included nearly 10,000 high school seniors. Of the data analyzed, 61% of the high school seniors reported they hadn't used marijuana. The researchers also found that the majority of these students reported that they would try marijuana if it were legal.

"What I personally find interesting is that this suggests that many people may be solely avoiding use because it is illegal, not because it is 'bad' for you, or 'wrong' to use," said Dr. Joseph Palamar of NYU's Langone Medical Center in a news release.

Despite this comment from Dr. Palamar, marijuana, or cannabis has not been found to cause any serious health problems. The drug's minor effects when used recreationally in excess can be found on the National Institute on Drug Abuse's website.