Pubdate: Thu, 16 Dec 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Page: A34
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Referenced: The report http://drugabuse.gov/PDF/overview2009.pdf
Related: The Times coverage http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n1034/a06.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kerlikowske
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+19
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?261 (Cannabis - United States)

ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE

The Assertion That Prop. 19 Is Contributing to a Rise in Teenage 
Marijuana Use Is Unfounded.

California, whose initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use 
drew national headlines this year, is notoriously tolerant of a drug 
considered an evil weed in some parts of the country. But is our lax 
attitude creating a school system full of Jeff Spicolis, the iconic 
California stoner from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"? R. Gil 
Kerlikowske, the Obama administration's drug czar, suspects that it is.

After an annual survey of teen drug use nationwide found that 
marijuana smoking is on the rise among eighth-through 12th-graders, 
Kerlikowske attributed the uptick to California's Proposition 19 and 
other states' initiatives to legalize medical marijuana. "Mixed 
messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana, may be to 
blame," he said in a news release. "Such messages certainly don't 
help parents who are trying to prevent kids from using drugs."

Anecdotal evidence suggests that he has a point. In Los Angeles, 
where billboards promoting doctors who pass out medical marijuana 
recommendations are commonplace and green crosses identifying pot 
"clinics" can be found on hundreds of street corners, cannabis seems 
as harmless and ubiquitous as nasal spray. It would be surprising if 
kids weren't influenced by adults' blase attitudes about the drug.

Yet anecdotal evidence is no substitute for rigorous study, and 
Kerlikowske should have checked such sources as the Congressional 
Research Service before jumping to conclusions. An April report, 
issued to advise Congress on whether to loosen federal restrictions 
on medical marijuana, examined studies comparing teen pot smoking in 
states with and without medical marijuana laws and found no 
connection between such laws and drug use. "Concerns that medical 
cannabis laws send the wrong message to vulnerable groups such as 
adolescents seem to be unfounded," it stated.

Most studies on the issue were performed about a decade ago, and it's 
clear that more research is needed on the effects of legalization 
debates on teen attitudes. Even if a causal connection is discovered, 
though, it doesn't imply that the solution is to stop discussing 
legalization --- as evidenced by the same National Institute on Drug 
Abuse survey that prompted Kerlikowske's comments.

Even as teen marijuana use is rising, tobacco and alcohol use is 
falling, according to the report, which found that 21.4% of high 
school seniors had smoked pot in the previous month and 19.2% had 
smoked tobacco --- the first time since 1981 that marijuana was more 
popular than cigarettes. This may indicate that public health 
campaigns aimed at discouraging alcohol and tobacco use are working, 
and that similar campaigns aimed specifically at marijuana might be 
equally effective. There's little evidence that continued 
criminalization has discouraged teen drug use, but better education might.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake