2012 STUDY The Relationship Between The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana And Usage By Teens

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1 2012 STUDY The Relationship Between The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana And Usage By Teens Federal officials contend that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages teenagers to use marijuana and have targeted dispensaries operating within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that legalization leads to increased use of marijuana by teenagers (In our study) the legalization of medical marijuana was not accompanied by an increases in the use of marijuana or other substances such as alcohol and cocaine among high school students. Interestingly, several of our estimates suggest that marijuana use actually declined with the passage of medical marijuana laws. (Study used data from ) Citation: Medical Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use IZA DP No. 6592, May 2012 D. Mark Anderson, Montana State University Benjamin Hansen, University of Oregon Daniel I. Rees, University of Colorado Denver and The Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn Germany (IZA)

2 Percentage of 9 th -12 th graders that have ever used marijuana ( ) 100% 80% 60% Eagle County Colorado 40% 37% 38% 40% 43% 39% 40% 37% 40% 20% 0% 2007/ / /2012 US down from a high of 47% in 1997 and Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

3 Percentage of 9 th 12 th graders that used marijuana within the past 30 days 100% 80% 60% Eagle County Colorado US 40% 20% 22% 25% 20% 21% 21% 21% 22% 23% 0% 2007/ / /2012 *US down from a high of 26.7% in Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

4 2011 RHODE ISLAND STUDY Rhode Island Hospital researchers examined adolescent marijuana use in Rhode Island and Massachusetts between 1997 and 2009 (32,570 students). Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana in The study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to Rhode Island's 2006 legalization of medical marijuana. Citation: Lifespan (2011, November 2). Legalizing medical marijuana does not increase use among youth, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Esther Choo, M.D., M.P.H., Brown University & Rhode Island Hospital Nicholas Zaller, Ph.D.,Miriam Hospital &Alpert Medical School Jason Mechan, Ph.D. Rhode Island Hospital & Alpert Medical School Kristin Rising, M.D., Boston Medical Center, John McConnell, Ph.D., of Oregon Health & Science University.

5 Access to Medical Marijuana During the Eagle County Healthy Kids Colorado survey of students percent of students in grades 7-12 reported knowing someone with a medical marijuana card. 1 percent of students in grades 7-12 reported obtaining marijuana from someone who had a card during the past 30 days 17 percent of students reported obtaining marijuana some other way during the past 30 days.

6 Access to Marijuana During the Eagle County Healthy Kids Colorado survey of students percent reported that if they wanted to get some marijuana it would be very easy. 17 percent reported it would be sort of easy. Source: Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, Eagle County. Available from the Eagle River Youth Coalition

7 Access to Marijuana 26 percent of teens nationally say that marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs. Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents. August, 2009

8 Marijuana vs. Cigarette Usage As the regulation, enforcement and carding campaigns of cigarettes has increased, usage has decreased. In 2009, Eagle County, Colorado and the US began to see a trend of a higher rate of teen marijuana usage than cigarettes.

9 Recent use of Cigarettes Vs. Marijuana 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% The percentage of 9 th 12 th graders that used Marijuana and Smoked Cigarettes during the Past 30 Days: Eagle County, CO, and U.S. Marijuana Cigarettes 21% 22% 23% 18% 16% 18% EC CO 2011 US 2011

10 A note on edibles... During the Eagle County Healthy Kids Colorado survey of 7 th 12 th grade students percent said they smoked marijuana within the past 30 days 1 percent said they used a vaporizer 1 percent said they ate it <1 percent said they consumed it some other way Source: Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, Eagle County. Available from the Eagle River Youth Coalition