Legalization does not influence user behaviour, study indicates
With or without legalization: user behaviour for cannabis users almost stays the same.

Much speculation has been made about whether teenage cannabis use has increased or decreased due to legalization and medical acceptance in the US states. Some studies have looked for a positive impact on reducing teenage use, while critics claimed cannabis is now more accessible. It has been found that, according to a recent study, national legal and medicinal cannabis does not have much of an impact on youth consumption at all. The study, entitled "Marijuana Legalization and Marijuana Prevention Among Adolescents," was originally published in the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers for the study are affiliated with the University of California at Irvine. During the study, they examined the patterns of cannabis use among adolescents and the adolescents involved in the justice system for cannabis use in the years immediately before and after legalization. The levels of cannabis use in legal, medical, and non-legal and non-medical states were similar. The aim of the study was to "determine the impact of recreational marijuana legalization in California on marijuana use among adolescents and young adults involved in the judicial system (JSI), and to distinguish whether changes to legalization (adoption of the Law) or are due to the implementation of the law ". "Contrary to claims made by many opponents of legalization, changes in states' marijuana policies have not resulted in a significant increase in cannabis use among adolescents," said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, according to a press release regarding the study's findings. "Overall, most voters believe these adult cannabis use policies are working as intended, which is why no state that has legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal or adult purposes has ever repealed its law. "California JSI adolescents have not seen a significant increase in marijuana use after legalizing or enforcing \[adult\] use," the study continues. In fact, marijuana use rates among teenagers in California were lower than rates reported by teenagers in Pennsylvania during the same period.





