Feds On Teen Mj Use, Recent Studies And Statistics

[trix]

Feds Call Out CO in Releasing Study on Teen MJ Use

 

Colorado -- Federal drug abuse officials called out Colorado by name Wednesday in releasing a new national survey of illicit drug use among teenagers, saying marijuana legalization efforts are clearly changing youth attitudes in a dangerous way.

 

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy noted many teens report getting their marijuana from others with medical marijuana access. Past-month pot use by high schoolers jumped over five years, and perceived risk by teens is plummeting, said the annual report of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Colorado, Washington and other states heading toward legalization are conducting a "large social experiment (that) portends a very difficult time" for drug-abuse control, said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

 

Legalization advocates, meanwhile, cited other statistics in the report showing the recent national trend in high school use of pot is flat.

 

The most recent three years of the survey show little change in self-reported use in the annual tally.

 

In 12th-graders, for example, use in the past month was 22.7 percent of respondents, little changed from 22.9 percent in 2012 or 22.6 percent in 2011. A similar flat trend held among 10th- and eighth-graders in those years.

 

The federal officials cited changes from 2008 to 2013 to make their point: Past-month use by 12th-graders nationally rose from 19.4 percent to 22.7 percent; among 10th-graders, use went from 13.8 percent to 18 percent.

 

Snipped

Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/S6C3cpEd

[trix]

Here is a recent poll about teen drug use and the stats, maybe this is the same poll they reference in the above story.. What they dont say in the above post is that all other drug use is down alcohol, heroin, coke.. whats so bad about that?

USA -- A new federal report shows that the percentage of American high school students who smoke marijuana is slowly rising, while the use of alcohol and almost every other drug is falling.

 

The report raises concerns that the relaxation of restrictions on marijuana, which can now be sold legally in 20 states and the District of Columbia, has been influencing use of the drug among teenagers. Health officials are concerned by the steady increase and point to what they say is a growing body of evidence that adolescent brains, which are still developing, are susceptible to subtle changes caused by marijuana.

Read More...

[t-pain]

the same govt operation that says marijuana isnt medicine.

[t-pain]

 and perceived risk by teens is plummeting, said the annual report of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

 

reefer madness is wearing off! people are finding out that marijuana wont kill them! whatever will we do?

[Norby]

Funny, I don't think pot use could've got very much higher than it was in the 80's for High Schools in Western NY.  Is there a # above 100% where it could've jumped 10% to?

 

Wonder what the views on alcohol are trending?  Oops missed the second post

Edited December 20, 2013 by Norby

[trix]

Wonder what the views on alcohol are trending?  Oops missed the second post

 

Adolescent consumption of alcohol and tobacco fell to historic lows while self-reported annual use of cannabis held steady, according to survey data released today by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor -- which has been sampling teens consumption of various licit and illicit substances since the mid-1970s.

 

But you wouldn’t know these facts if you read today’s mainstream media headlines.

 

For example, the accompanying headline of McClatchy’s wire story inaccurately claims that marijuana consumption among young people rose between 2011 and 2012, stating “Feds decry rising marijuana use among kids,” despite the fact that the title of the study’s own press release affirms “The rise in teen marijuana use stalls.”

 

Other news outlets, such as PBS News Hour, predictably highlight the federal government’s talking point that adolescents’ perception of pot’s risk potential is dipping (e.g., ’60 percent of 12th grade students do not view marijuana as harmful’). Unreported is the fact that this trend is is not new, but is rather an ongoing one. According to the University’s year-by-year data, teens’ perceptions regarding marijuana’s risks first began declining in the early 1990s -- a time that predates the passage of statewide medical cannabis laws or more recent statewide depenalization/legalization laws. (Looking for an explanation for this trend? Try this: More and more teens are wising up to the fact that cannabis is not as equally dangerous as heroin, despite the federal government’s claims to the contrary.)

 

Overlooked in the mainstream media’s reporting is that the use of both alcohol and tobacco among all grades surveyed has fallen consistently since the mid-1990s and now stands at all-time lows. (In fact, more teens now acknowledge using marijuana than cigarettes, the study found.) Teens are also finding alcohol to be less available and are far less likely to engage in binge drinking now than ever before.

 

By contrast, teens self-reported annual use of cannabis has largely held steady since the late 1990s but remains elevated compared to the historic lows reported in the earlier that decade. (Present use levels, however, still remain well below the highs reported in the late 1970s.) Approximately 8 out of 10 12th graders surveyed said that marijuana was “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain, a percentage that has remained largely unchanged since 2009, but is well below previously reported highs circa the late 1990s.

 

Nevertheless, federal officials are utilizing the latest University of Michigan data to once again sound the alarm about cannabis, stating that the cannabis ‘problem’ is even “worse” than the data suggests while the Drug Czar once again tries to misleadingly link long-term trends to the passage of recent changes in law

.

And what no public officials wish to acknowledge is the obvious elephant in the room. The reality that an increasing number of teens are steadily turning away from the legally regulated intoxicants alcohol and tobacco -- a factoid that once again affirms that the most effective way to keep substances out of teens’ hands isn’t through criminal prohibition; it is through legalization, regulation, and public education. So why does the federal government (as well as the mainstream media) acknowledge the effectiveness of this strategy when it comes to booze and cigarettes, but continue to turn its back on these common sense principles when it comes to pot?

 

Read more here.

[Chauncy Gardner]

 

 

Adolescent consumption of alcohol and tobacco fell to historic lows while self-reported annual use of cannabis held steady, according to survey data released today by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor -- which has been sampling teens consumption of various licit and illicit substances since the mid-1970s.

 

But you wouldn’t know these facts if you read today’s mainstream media headlines.

 

For example, the accompanying headline of McClatchy’s wire story inaccurately claims that marijuana consumption among young people rose between 2011 and 2012, stating “Feds decry rising marijuana use among kids,” despite the fact that the title of the study’s own press release affirms “The rise in teen marijuana use stalls.”

 

Other news outlets, such as PBS News Hour, predictably highlight the federal government’s talking point that adolescents’ perception of pot’s risk potential is dipping (e.g., ’60 percent of 12th grade students do not view marijuana as harmful’). Unreported is the fact that this trend is is not new, but is rather an ongoing one. According to the University’s year-by-year data, teens’ perceptions regarding marijuana’s risks first began declining in the early 1990s -- a time that predates the passage of statewide medical cannabis laws or more recent statewide depenalization/legalization laws. (Looking for an explanation for this trend? Try this: More and more teens are wising up to the fact that cannabis is not as equally dangerous as heroin, despite the federal government’s claims to the contrary.)

 

Overlooked in the mainstream media’s reporting is that the use of both alcohol and tobacco among all grades surveyed has fallen consistently since the mid-1990s and now stands at all-time lows. (In fact, more teens now acknowledge using marijuana than cigarettes, the study found.) Teens are also finding alcohol to be less available and are far less likely to engage in binge drinking now than ever before.

 

By contrast, teens self-reported annual use of cannabis has largely held steady since the late 1990s but remains elevated compared to the historic lows reported in the earlier that decade. (Present use levels, however, still remain well below the highs reported in the late 1970s.) Approximately 8 out of 10 12th graders surveyed said that marijuana was “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain, a percentage that has remained largely unchanged since 2009, but is well below previously reported highs circa the late 1990s.

 

Nevertheless, federal officials are utilizing the latest University of Michigan data to once again sound the alarm about cannabis, stating that the cannabis ‘problem’ is even “worse” than the data suggests while the Drug Czar once again tries to misleadingly link long-term trends to the passage of recent changes in law

.

And what no public officials wish to acknowledge is the obvious elephant in the room. The reality that an increasing number of teens are steadily turning away from the legally regulated intoxicants alcohol and tobacco -- a factoid that once again affirms that the most effective way to keep substances out of teens’ hands isn’t through criminal prohibition; it is through legalization, regulation, and public education. So why does the federal government (as well as the mainstream media) acknowledge the effectiveness of this strategy when it comes to booze and cigarettes, but continue to turn its back on these common sense principles when it comes to pot?

 

Read more here.

 

I still don't understand why the government won't acknowledge the elephant in the room. WTF is up with that? They steadfastly refuse to acknowledge the truth about cannabis, even when everybody else knows it! It is painfully obvious to everyone that the government is lying, yet the media won't call them out on it. Why???????

[Norby]

Media is in cahoots.  They just tell you what they want you to think, it has nothing to do with news or facts or anything.

[Chauncy Gardner]

Media is in cahoots.  They just tell you what they want you to think, it has nothing to do with news or facts or anything.

 

 

Looks like the scenario laid out in George Orwell's "1984" finally took hold in 2013. Everybody who read that book back in the day said "That will never happen in the USA". Well, it did.

[Norby]

Holy crap that's weird.  I was going to write because 1984 is real(or it's 1984 or something) and I erased it and went with the media in cahoots instead.

[t-pain]

it really is doublespeak.

 

the same thing happened in the 1930s

 

thats why they did the 'we are banning marijuana (hemp)'.

if people knew they were banning hemp, it would have never passed.

[trix]

Well seems like there are a lot of new polls and studies on teens and its effects as of late.. Here is another one that just popped up.

 

Study Shows Marijuana May Impact Memory for Teens

 

A new study published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin found that teens who smoke marijuana may have brain changes similar to those experienced by someone suffering from schizophrenia.

 

The study followed 100 teens between ages 16 and 17 who were split into four groups: those who had never used marijuana, those who had used marijuana in the past, schizophrenia patients who had never used marijuana and schizophrenia patients who had used it in the past.

 

MRI scans were performed on the participants’ brains and their anatomical structures were compared.  It was found that the healthy former marijuana smokers and the schizophrenic participants who had smoked marijuana both showed shrinkage of regions in the brain associated with working memory.  The teens who had never used marijuana, both healthy and schizophrenic, did not experience such shrinkage.

 

The younger the participants were when they started smoking pot chronically, the more abnormal the shape of the brain regions. That suggests that regions related to memory may be more susceptible to pot’s effects if abuse starts at an earlier age, according to the researchers.

 

When all of the participants took memory tests, the healthy volunteers who never used marijuana scored 37 times higher on average than those who had smoked pot, and the schizophrenic patients who hadn’t used marijuana scored four times higher than their schizophrenic counterparts who had.

 

“The abuse of popular street drugs, such as marijuana, may have dangerous implications for young people who are developing or have developed mental disorders,” study author Dr. John Csernansky, the chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in Chicago, said in a statement. “This paper is among the first to reveal that the use of marijuana may contribute to the changes in brain structure that have been associated with having schizophrenia.”

 

The study does not demonstrate that marijuana use leads to schizophrenia, but it does show that marijuana’s role in schizophrenic patients– whether it has a causative effect or is used as a coping mechanism for symptoms– should be further investigated.

 

Scientists continue to struggle with determining whether marijuana contributes to memory issues, or whether those with memory issues tend to turn to marijuana more frequently.

 

[Source]

[Norby]

I wonder if it was an indica or sativa they used.  I think sativas may have that affect but I find it hard to believe an indica would do the same.

[t-pain]

bunch of good comments in that article.

 

"It is conceivable that excessive use of cannabis sometimes contributes to acute schizophrenic episodes. But it is difficult to believe that cannabis is a strong risk factor for this disorder, because there is no evidence that the incidence of schizophrenia has risen dramatically over the past 50 years, in parallel with the huge increase in cannabis use.

Young schizophrenic patients are often heavy cigarette smokers too, but no-one would suggest that tobacco causes schizophrenia."

 

or this:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24309013

[trix]

Crazy to me that its taken this long for studies to be done on something that has such effects on the brain.

 

Whether its about Memory, Cancer, Schizophrenia etc etc.. What if it proves to positively cure cancer, how foolish will our government look when that comes to surface.. How many people will have died due to refer madness campaigns.

Trix

[t-pain]

looks like the NIDA and NIH have ramped up marijuana-causes-problem studies as of late.

seems like the legalization in two states has scared them into making some studies, no matter how weak they are.

 

also it seems like papers report when the study comes out, but miss when the 2nd study comes out that cant replicate the findings or flat out conflicts with the findings.

 

not to say that there isnt any harm whatsoever for marijuana, just that no study has proven one yet (which is crazy).

 

remember those studies that it would give you testicle cancer?

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/study-links-marijuana-use-to-testicular-cancer

 

or make men grow breasts?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/marijuana-man-boobs_n_4392617.html

 

or marijuana kills 30000 per year?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-179264/Cannabis-kills-30-000-year.html

 

marijuana damages sperm?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/4482.php

 

hell it might even cause lung cancer, it took us 40 years and we still dont know!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23846283

 

dont forget pot will cause heart attacks

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117399

 

but the thing is none of these ever turn out to be true. total complete utter moo poo "science" and i'm tired of it.

[Chauncy Gardner]

looks like the NIDA and NIH have ramped up marijuana-causes-problem studies as of late.

seems like the legalization in two states has scared them into making some studies, no matter how weak they are.

 

also it seems like papers report when the study comes out, but miss when the 2nd study comes out that cant replicate the findings or flat out conflicts with the findings.

 

not to say that there isnt any harm whatsoever for marijuana, just that no study has proven one yet (which is crazy).

 

remember those studies that it would give you testicle cancer?

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/study-links-marijuana-use-to-testicular-cancer

 

or make men grow breasts?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/marijuana-man-boobs_n_4392617.html

 

or marijuana kills 30000 per year?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-179264/Cannabis-kills-30-000-year.html

 

marijuana damages sperm?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/4482.php

 

hell it might even cause lung cancer, it took us 40 years and we still dont know!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23846283

 

dont forget pot will cause heart attacks

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117399

 

but the thing is none of these ever turn out to be true. total complete utter moo poo "science" and i'm tired of it.

 

Dynamite post. I'm tired of it too.