Medical Marijuana Law Will Likely Decrease Marijuana Use Among Teens

New Jersey’s medical marijuana law will not increase marijuana use among teens regardless of what the state’s drug-prevention advocates are saying. In fact, once New Jersey implements its medical marijuana law, marijuana use among teens is very likely to decrease. David Evans, with the Flemington-based Drug Free Schools Coalition, recently said that former Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration complicated the message to teens, in part, by approving medical marijuana (”N.J. drug-prevention advocates encourage new administration to address drug policy as national study finds teen drug, alcohol use rising,” March 4).

Gov. Corzine did no such thing.

Official state government surveys of teen drug use (compiled at mpp.org/teenuse) have found that no state with a medical marijuana law has experienced an increase in youth marijuana use since its law’s enactment.

In fact, all medical marijuana states have reported overall decreases, many exceeding 50 percent in some age groups.

New Jersey’s medical marijuana law will not increase use among teens. What it will do is prevent the state’s sick and dying patients from arrest and offer them safe access to a proven and effective medicine they feel works best for them.

Kurt A. Gardinier

Washington, D.C.

The writer is director of communications at the Washington, D.C. based Marijuana Policy Project, an organization pushing for marijuana-law reform. Lehighvalleylive.