Drug Legalization & Substance Attitudes

The number of Americans supporting the legalization of recreational use of marijuana (cannabis) products has been steadily increasing in recent years. In November 2016, California voters passed Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, legalizing the sale and distribution of cannabis in both a dry and concentrated form.

The legalization of cannabis use reinforced a low-risk perception that has been steadily filtering down to teens. According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 51.5 percent of American teens aged 12–17 perceived great risk from smoking marijuana once or twice a week in 2002. Twelve years later that percentage had plummeted to only 37.4. That means more than 60 percent of teenagers do not consider smoking marijuana once or twice a week a great risk. A 2016 study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Monitoring the Future) found that marijuana was one of the most commonly used drugs among teens. Less than 20 percent of 18–25 year-olds believe that marijuana use is dangerous.

The vanishing risk perception is especially problematic for young people whose brains are not fully developed and who are more inclined to engage in risky behavior. Marijuana affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teens, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions.

Using marijuana depresses brain function to the point where chronic use results in lethargy and a reduction in motivation. The more potent the weed, the more lethargic the user. This is not good for anybody but unlike adults, the teen brain is still actively developing and often will not stop until the mid-20s. Drinking and drug use during this period can have a hugely detrimental impact, affecting a teen’s ability to progress and grow on numerous fronts.