Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Teen Consumption: AMA Report

According to a report by Marijuana Moment on April 15, a new report released by the American Medical Association (AMA) suggests that the legalization and regulation of adult marijuana use has no impact on teenage usage rates. The study findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

This research report was released by a project team at Boston College, which evaluated the relationship between the legalization of marijuana over the past decade (2011-2021) and adolescent consumption of marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco. Researchers examined survey data from over 898,000 adolescents and found that adult marijuana legalization was not correlated with "the likelihood or frequency of adolescent marijuana use," but was associated with a decrease in adolescent "alcohol and e-cigarette consumption.

The team's conclusion is that "the results indicate that the legalization of marijuana and greater control over the marijuana market does not lead to increased use among teenagers.

At the same time, the opening of the retail market is related to a 26% increase in consumer use of marijuana. For each additional year the retail market remains open, the frequency of marijuana consumption increases by 8%.

Regarding e-cigarettes, for each year the law legalizing adult use of marijuana is in effect, the likelihood of zero e-cigarette use increases by 16%, with an overall estimated negative impact. The regulated retail marijuana market is associated with a 42% increase in zero e-cigarette use, and for each year of the retail marijuana market's regulation, the likelihood of zero use increases by 20%, both demonstrating significant negative total effects.