A study of 100 thousand adolescents shows that cannabis use does not increase as a result of its liberalization.
So it seems that liberalizing cannabis does not cause an increase in use among young people. In fact, a new analysis by the University of Kent found no correlation between higher rates of cannabis use and countries that have liberalized it.
The research
This study analyzed more than 100 thousand adolescents, in 38 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, France, Germany and Canada, and its findings were recently published in theInternational Journal of Drug Policy. The study offers further confirmation that a real reduction in marijuana use is not closely linked to countries’ restrictive policies.
No connection
“The new study adds to many others that show no evidence of a link between harsher penalties and lower cannabis use,” explained author Alex Stevens. “This is critical information for governments that are looking for the best way to deal with cannabis. The harms and costs of imposing criminal convictions on those who use this substance do not seem to be justified by an effective reduction in its use.”
Liberalization
The researchers questioned in the new analysis , to reiterate the non-existence of evidence of the link between liberalization and cannabis use, a 2015 study that found a correlation between liberalization of the substance and increased opportunity for adolescent use.
The results of the research, explained Stevens, were based on a misinterpretation, while “our analysis considered a broader collection of data, taking into account differences in cannabis use among boys and girls in different countries, and did not find a significant association between policy liberalization and cannabis use in adolescents“.
