Youth Marijuana Approval and Use Appears to Decline

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 22, 2015 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News | Comments are off for this article

Despite the fact that a handful of states have approved marijuana for recreational use, youth perception of the drug has decreased overall. A recent study was published in the The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse looked at marijuana use statistics and youth attitudes about the drug.

According to the report, about 75% of adolescents aged 12-14 reported strong disapproval of the drug. There was also a 6 percent drop in usage for that age range. Meanwhile, teenagers aged 15-17 showed a decline in usage from 26% to 22%.

Our nation currently faces some interesting developments in the realm of substance abuse and treatment. On one hand there are more states voting to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults and regulate its sale. On the other, there are more people gaining access to treatment and drug courts and other treatment-oriented diversion programs are being used.

While some people get caught up in the debate over which drugs are worse, we choose to instead discourage people from seeking an escape through addiction and are advocates of treatment, intervention and prevention programs that work.