A new study has found that medical marijuana laws do not cause a rise in teen marijuana use — and in fact, there is a negative association between medical marijuana laws and teen marijuana use.
Researchers D. Mark Anderson, Benjamin Hansen and Daniel I. Rees, working with funds from the Institute for the Study of Labor in Europe, published their findings as a discussion paper in May.
The team looked at national and state surveys of teen drug use from 1993 onward, and estimated the relationship between medical marijuana laws and teen marijuana use. They found that the results were not consistent with allegations made by the U.S. federal government and others that medical marijuana legislation was leading to more kids using pot.
