Medical marijuana laws and teen marijuana use Articles uri icon

publication date

  • January 2015

start page

  • 495

end page

  • 528

issue

  • 2

volume

  • 17

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1465-7252

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1465-7260

abstract

  • Although policymakers and law enforcement officials argue that medical marijuana laws (MMLs) "send the wrong message" to young people, previous studies have produced no evidence of a causal relationship between MMLs and marijuana use among teens. Using data from the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, and the Treatment Episode Data Set, we revisit this relationship. Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that legalization of medical marijuana leads to increased marijuana use among teenagers. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Law and Economics. Association. All rights reserved.