Marijuana Use by US Teens Rising

[Skip]

A federal survey reports that more teenage students are using marijuana than in years past. This increase is likely due to changing attitudes in America towards cannabis, thanks to the spread of legal medical marijuana. Fewer students view marijuana as being harmful.

However, more teens than ever are getting high on addictive prescription pain pills and attention-deficit drugs.

Marijuana use, while well off peak levels of the late 1990s, has edged up. According to the study of 47,097 students, among this year's 12th graders, 20.6 percent said they used it within the past month, compared with 19.4 percent in 2008 and 18.3 percent in 2006.

Among 10th graders, pot use in the past month rose to 15.9 percent this year from 13.8 percent in 2008.

"The upward trending of the past two or three years stands in stark contrast to the steady decline that preceded it for nearly a decade," said Lloyd Johnston, who has directed the annual survey since it started in 1975.

The percentage of eighth-graders who saw a "great risk" in occasionally smoking marijuana fell from 50.5 percent in 2004 to 48.1 percent in 2008 and 44.8 percent this year. The perceived danger of using Ecstasy once or twice fell among eighth graders, from 42.5 percent in 2004 to 26 percent in 2009.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icASgV4A9dMhkWmsFndmLG2zBX7AD9CJ664G0

 

[Hydro-Soil]

The perceived danger of using Ecstasy once or twice fell among eighth graders, from 42.5 percent in 2004 to 26 percent in 2009.

No shit? The Ritalin generation doesn't see much harm with pills, they've been pumped full of them for the past 5 years, No surprise they wouldn't have issues about Ecstasy.

Wanna see why the national healthcare B.S. is just that? Watch "The business of being born" and remember that it's only ONE TINY SLICE of what's wrong with America's healthcare system. The fact that doctors don't have a problem pumping our kids full of harmful chemicals should put up a HUGE warning sign in your head. It's a tribute to the mass media that most folks don't see it that way.

Stay Safe!

 

[toddv]

Still holds true, "give a 15 year old kid $200.00 and ask them for pack of Marlboro reds, 12 pak Budweiser and pot for all the money left" answer will be " I can get the pot quick but not the cigerettes or beer."

Legalize, control, just like alcohol and tobacco. We should all be able to go to the happy store, score a beautiful zip of chocolope, 6 pak of Spaten Optimator and it's home to be happy.

Legalize supports a healthy change.

 

[fatcat0491]

sorry but i find ecstasy and marijuana two very different Drugs
one i man made, and one is grown naturally?

 

[fatigues]

Legalize, control, just like alcohol and tobacco.

Gah! Don't you understand the MESSAGE that sends to our children? Think of your own children as junkies!

#include_bullshit_gatewaydrugtheory;

 

[fatigues]

sorry but i find ecstasy and marijuana two very different Drugs
one i man made, and one is grown naturally?

Care to ingest an oz of this dried "natural" foxglove I got sitting right here?

The natural argument is, in a phrase, bullshit. "Natural" is not a synonym for "beneficial", let alone "safe". There are all kinds of natural things that will leave you Stone. Cold. Dead if you ingest them.

Nor do I see a queue forming up for people to volunteer to be bitten by the "natural" Australian Redback Spider...

It happens to be that marijuana IS safe and beneficial, but not because it is "natural", simply because its pharmacological effects are extremely benign.

 

[Skip]

The real crime in my book is the # of teens who are getting BUSTED with pot, then sentenced to "treatment" that costs thousands of dollars just to stay out of jail. This has spawned the huge growing business of rehab "clinics" which really don't do much for pot smokers since they aren't "addicted" to begin with.

Plus they include these kids who get shunted to rehab in the "casualty" list of cannabis "abusers" who have "psychological" disorders. This skews the stats making it look like every teenager in rehab is a criminal and a victim of marijuana addiction. It's the LAW making criminals out of kids, not marijuana!

Don't want your kids being labeled criminal drug abusers/addicts and remanded to a "treatment" center just cause they smoke pot? Then LEGALIZE IT!

 

[JimBeamKush]

Cant believe kids are smoking pot ahhhhh what is the world coming too.

I thought it was just a rite of passage as a teenager to toke it up!

*lights a joint*

 

[caruso813]

Legalize, control, just like alcohol and tobacco. We should all be able to go to the happy store, score a beautiful zip of chocolope, 6 pak of Spaten Optimator and it's home to be happy.

Why let the government control it?

It's a plant, and should be treated as such. It grows wild and free, as it should be allowed to.

DEA doesn't come kickin' your front door in over the dandelions that grow in your lawn do they?

Control by our government isn't the answer we're looking for man!!

 

[love?]

The children are our future!

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Teach them well and let them lead the way...

 

[Catharsis]

I disagree with introducing anything into the mix (psychotropic pharma, cannabis, etc.) during youth since so much important development is going on - anything that could affect that development isn't cool with me.

However, I understand how short sighted this stance is because things most consider innocuous (sugar rich soda, fast food, etc.) can also disrupt development.

Anyway, back on topic, yeah, as long as it's illegal it'll be easier to get then alcohol and cigs.

Regulate and make it harder for kids to get high. Yeah, it's a plant, but I don't think children should have easy access to it. Just like I wouldn't want my young teenagers to have easy access to hard core naturally growing psychedelics like peyote.

For adults, unregulated access should be the norm. Kids, especially during neurological development - no. Once they reach 21 they can make their own, educated decision to smoke crack for all I care.

 

[BurmeseDragon]

It doesn't matter what these studies say, the fact is they have little effect on reality...compared to cops, prosecutors and Judges that promote a point of view that is akin to killing any and all drug users...some people really do have that opinion...that we should be killed!

Drugs are just not politically popular and some are not even so among users....cannabis is very popular, unless you are a tweaker and get paranoid from years of meth or crack abuse.

Anymore I don't want to talk to old friends about cannabis, I have seen how bad it looks in court. Around here, people will question in their mind if you are still 'on weed'...so they don't believe anything you ever say no matter how true and valid the fact!

It's still reefer madness, the sad thing is that there are a lot of cannabis users that will bring up that someone uses cannabis.....to segregate them, not all users are the same 'in this together' song....

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Kids... especially during neurological development should DEFINITELY be exposed to cannabis. It should be in their DIET though. Not smoking it.

Prohibition keeps smoking the most cost efficient delivery method. End prohibition and let us return to sanity.

Stay Safe!

And yes.. this means using cannabis as a FIRST LINE DEFENSE when considering medicating children. PERIOD!

 

[J_Man]

No shit? The Ritalin generation doesn't see much harm with pills, they've been pumped full of them for the past 5 years, No surprise they wouldn't have issues about Ecstasy.

Wanna see why the national healthcare B.S. is just that? Watch "The business of being born" and remember that it's only ONE TINY SLICE of what's wrong with America's healthcare system. The fact that doctors don't have a problem pumping our kids full of harmful chemicals should put up a HUGE warning sign in your head. It's a tribute to the mass media that most folks don't see it that way.

Stay Safe!

I'll second that documentary. It was very informative and you get to see Ricky Lake balls out naked.

 

[caruso813]

Kids... especially during neurological development should DEFINITELY be exposed to cannabis. It should be in their DIET though. Not smoking it.

Prohibition keeps smoking the most cost efficient delivery method. End prohibition and let us return to sanity.

Stay Safe!

And yes.. this means using cannabis as a FIRST LINE DEFENSE when considering medicating children. PERIOD!

http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=148131

^^The proof is in the pudding...Or the honey in this case

 

[JackTheGrower]

Less Huffing Paint, Less taking pills they find and don't know what they are, less choking them selves to get high?

Well has it shifted the USA's number one drug problem at this time back to cannabis? It has been Pharmaceutical drugs for a while now I understand.

Lets see Deaths from Alcohol is greater than Zero and deaths from Cannabis is holding steady at zero.

If people want to experiment cannabis is a safe way to get through that phase IMO.

 

[grow1620]

What's scary is the amount of kids actually snorting ADD and antidepressant pills.

I say give em all the weed they want if it keeps em from snorting ritalin and zoloft. Who know wtf kind of screwed up mental disorders these kids are gonna get from snorting shit like that.

 

[JackTheGrower]

What's scary is the amount of kids actually snorting ADD and antidepressant pills.

I say give em all the weed they want if it keeps em from snorting ritalin and zoloft. Who know wtf kind of screwed up mental disorders these kids are gonna get from snorting shit like that.

Oh wait you can't be serious that a natural plant with natural molecular bonds could be safer than ritalin and/or whiskey can you?

I know you are

 

[Jellyfish]

It's rock 'n' roll, man.