References. Angelini, M. P. (2012). Legal medical marijuana will increase illicit teenage use of

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1 Holly VanWinkle HON201_H APA Format: References Angelini, M. P. (2012). Legal medical marijuana will increase illicit teenage use of marijuana. In N. Merino (ed.), Marijuana (pp ). Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. In this chapter of a book, Angelini discusses the negative affects that passing medical marijuana laws would have on teens. She claims that legalizing medical marijuana will lead to a significant increase in marijuana use (1), offering data from studies to show a correlation between the two. Angelini claims that legalizing marijuana will greatly increase the already growing rates of teen drug use by increasing availability and further relaxing teens' attitudes towards drug use is contrary to my argument that increased teen use and acceptance of marijuana are growing nationally and not just in states that have legalized forms of marijuana, and that with marijuana already perceived as the most available drug by teens, availability is not an incredibly significant factor in underage use. Caulkins, J. P., Hawken, A., Kilmer, B., & Kleiman, M. (2012). Marijuana legalization: What everyone needs to know. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. In this book, the authors objectively address the topic of marijuana legalization. They present the many issues surrounding legalization, looking at political, medical, policy,

2 social and personal aspects, and offer a broad overview of the different opinions on these issues and who is affected by them. Specifically, the sections on growing support of marijuana use and how legalization will personally affect teens and parents of teens provided me with context for my argument. Fritz, G. K. (2014). The gathering storm regarding legalization of marijuana. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 30(4), 8. In this article, Fritz discusses the declining stigma around marijuana following its legalization for recreational use in Washington and Colorado. Fritz states that the issues around marijuana are only further complicated when the potential impact on youth is taken into account, especially when being looked at from a health risk perspective or by those who have firsthand experience with the negative health consequences of adolescent drug use. The authors focus on dependence and substance abuse treatment for marijuana in adolescents provides context for my argument. Johnston, L. D., O Malley, P. M., Miech, R. A., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2016). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, : Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan. This report of the Monitoring The Future 2015 survey results offers data showing long term trends and changes in illicit drug use in adolescents in grades 8-12, as well as trends in the perceived risk and personal disapproval of these drugs. Concerning marijuana, the study found that although use of marijuana remained essentially unchanged in 2015, marijuana attitudes among students continued to move toward greater acceptance, and

3 that the perceived risk of regular smoking had declined across the board. These finding support my claim that, while it's legalization may cause youth to see marijuana as more acceptable, this will not lead to a substantial increase in use among adolescents. Kazura, A. (2013). Medical marijuana laws and teens. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 29(4), 8. In this article, Kazura discusses medical marijuana's health benefits and how changing views about the risks of using marijuana might negatively affect teens' health. She states that What we have is a situation in which marijuana linkage to health benefits has become part of popular culture, access is more open, and possibly the total amount of product 'on the market' is increased, and claims that we should not wait until a causal relationship is proven before taking steps to negate the risks to teens, when data showing links between these factors and increased cigarettes and alcohol use has set a clear precedent. Kazura's claim that marijuana's increased use by teens is caused by its status in popular culture is a counterargument to my claim that personal and emotional risk factors have had a much greater affect on the increase in marijuana use among teens than the perceived decrease in marijuana's risks brought on by legalization. Kilmer, B. (2015, June 22). The 10 Ps of marijuana legalization [Web log post]. Retrieved from In this blog post, Kilmer identifies what he feels are the key questions to ask when considering recreational marijuana legalization policy practices. Kilmer states that the policies surrounding marijuana legalization are uncharted waters, and that we know very little about the health consequences both harms and benefits of the new

4 marijuana products that are proliferating in places that have legalized. Kilmer's discussion of legalization's effects on youth due to increased availability, reduced stigma, lower prices, and marketing offers context on the issue of marijuana legalization and adolescents. Lee, M. A. (2012). Suffer the children. In Smoke signals: A social history of marijuana: Medical, recreational, and scientific (pp ). New York, NY: Scribner. In this chapter of his book, Lee examines the effects of marijuana use on teens, including addiction and effects on behavior, and how it's legalization has played a role in teen use rates. Lee claims that the increasing number of stressors and social and emotional risk factors teens experience cause them to self-medicate with marijuana, and are not, as some claim, an effect of using marijuana. Lee's claims support my argument that preexisting risk factors and current availability even where illegal, are the biggest risk factors in teens' choice to smoke marijuana and that legalization will in itself have little overall effect on underage use. Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth. (2004). Pediatrics, 113(6), In this report, the authors review current information about the relationship between teen marijuana use and it's legal status to better understand what changes might influence underage marijuana use rates in the future. The authors claim that as marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug by adolescents any change in it's legal status, even strictly pertaining to adults, will likely affect the prevalence in use by youth. Their argument that the high abuse rates of alcohol and tobacco in teens is an indication that

5 legalization will increase marijuana use in teens, is a counterargument to my claim that marijuana's status as legal or illegal is not a huge contributing factor in teens choice to smoke, as it is a growing trend nationally. NSDUH: Daily marijuana use increasing among teens. (2014). Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 26(36), 3-4. This article presents finding from The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use Health, showing an overall decrease in teen use of marijuana, but an increase in daily use by teens, and a decrease in the perceived risk of using marijuana since The author claims that, when taking into account the whole survey, there is a generally upward trend in marijuana acceptance and use nationally. This supports my claim that the increase in marijuana use among teens is not greatly affected by living in states with forms of legal marijuana. O'Keefe, K., Earleywine, M., & Mirken, B. (2012). Legal medical marijuana does not increase illicit teenage use of marijuana. In N. Merino (ed.), Marijuana (pp ). Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. In this chapter of a book, the authors analyze available data from states with medical marijuana laws to show trends in underage marijuana use in those states. The authors claim that the available evidence strongly suggests that enactment of state medical marijuana laws has not increased adolescent use (63). The data presented showing decreases in teen marijuana use in nine states with medical marijuana programs supports my claim that, even if marijuana legalization is responsible for the more accepting attitude towards marijuana by youth, it will not lead to an increase in consumption.

Marijuana use among young people in an era of policy change: what does recent evidence tell us?

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