8th and 12th Graders In “Legal” States More Likely To Use Psychoactive Drugs
(WASHINGTON, DC) – In another buzz kill for the pot industry, the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institutes of Health, shows marijuana use among minors is worsening in states with commercial markets – despite those states continuing to outlaw use of the psychoactive drugs by minors. The survey results also highlight increased daily marijuana use by 8th, 10th and 12th graders.
In response to the latest national data, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton, released the following statement condemning the industry and states for encouraging a culture of pervasive drug use:
“Normalization and commercialization of THC drugs and marijuana continues to have profound ramifications for the nation’s young people. These drugs – which remain illegal even in so-called ‘legalized’ states – are known to have serious health ramifications for youth including IQ loss, depression, and psychosis, yet policymakers aren’t doing enough to keep drugs out of the hands of kids. Big Marijuana, like Big Tobacco before it, is quickly finding ways to make their merchandise appealing to children to drive sales and they couldn’t care less about the impacts,” Sabet said.
This year’s MTF data also showed:
- The percentage of 8th graders who vaped marijuana increased over the past year.
- The percentage of 10th graders who had ever used medical marijuana rose.
- The percentage of 12th graders who said it was easy or fairly easy to get marijuana grew.
- The percentage of 12th graders who disapprove of people using marijuana regularly dropped in 2023.
“The science on these drugs couldn’t be clearer, but politicians are still under the spell of the lobbyists for these drug companies and refuse to acknowledge the facts. We are failing our nation’s children at a time when they need us most,” said Sabet.