Even though California voters voted not to legalize marijuana, young people in America are less worried about its effects and continue to smoke it at an increasing rate, reports a recent study from the University of Michigan called, “Monitoring the Future.”

The study sampled over 46,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, and found an increase in marijuana and ecstasy usage, but a decline in alcohol usage.

Alcohol usage amongst 12th graders is the lowest it has been since the study began in 1975, and 8th and 10th graders show the lowest usage rates since they were included in the study in 1991, despite reporting that alcohol is “very easy” or “easy” to acquire.

These declining numbers comes as a shock in relation to a recent advertising study released by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), which shows that youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television increased by 71 percent between 2001 and 2009. Apparently, ads for distilled spirits on cable television make up for a large percentage of the increase in youth exposure. The study says, “The average annual number of alcohol ads seen by youth watching television increased from 217 in 2001 to 366 in 2009, approximately one alcohol ad per day.”

Marijuana usage, on the other hand, is now on the rise. The usage rates for all three grade levels increased significantly. “Daily or near-daily use is defined as use on 20 or more occasions in the prior 30 days; the rates for grades 8, 10, and 12 were 1%, 3%, and 6% in 2010. In other words, about one in sixteen 12th graders today uses marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis,” reports the study.

Ecstasy usage increased in all three grades as well, and youth responded that they perceived fewer health risks associated with ecstasy than in the previous five years.

Vicodin and OxyContin usage among youth is higher than in 2002, and concerns researchers because of the addictive nature of the drug. Most teenagers reported coming into possession of these prescription drugs through a friend. Typically, someone finds leftover pills from a prescription and then gives or sells them to a friend.

In 1996, California passed a bill that authorized the use of medical marijuana to treat serious illnesses such as cancer and AIDS as well as “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief”. Now, some doctors are counting A.D.H.D. as an illness that falls into this category.

Medicann, a network of medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland has treated as many as 50 patients ages 14 to 18 who are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. Some doctors claim marijuana is safer than aspirin, and therefore a much better alternative than other A.D.H.D. medications, many of which have side effects similar to amphetamines. As The New York Times reports, other experts, like Stephen Hindshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley, point out that marijuana tends to be linked with disruption of memory, attention, and concentration -- the very problems that A.D.H.D. medications seek to treat. Marijuana, however, does seem to greatly alleviate anxiety and anger, which often accompany the disorder.

Studies continue to support that marijuana stunts brain development in adolescents, a side effect that can offset the benefits of using marijuana to treat A.D.H.D. in young people.

(via The New York Times)

According to the associated press, Rhode Island became 3rd state to allow marijuana sales to chronically ill patients on Tuesday, who will take the drug for pain relief. State house representatives voted unanimously to override a veto by the republican governor, don Carcieri, while the House of Representatives voted for the bill 35-3.
The other states that have legalized medical marijuana are California and New Mexico, which passed this march. But there are many other states also considering legalization, such as Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
In California, though, taxcannibas2010.org is taking it a step farther, fighting for an initiative on the 2010 state ballot legalizing possession of 1 ounce of marijuana by adults over 21 and cultivation in an area no larger than 5 feet by 5 feet. It would also include the option for counties to tax and regulate sales and cultivation. A state assemblyman, tom Ammiano, is tackling the matter in the state legislature, attempting to pass a bill that would decriminalize the drug, as well as pose a heavy tax on its production. There will also be a special election mail-in ballot in Oakland in July, which includes measure f which would increase medical marijuana in the city tax 15 fold.
This legislation, as well as many other recent issues like the drug war in Mexico, has lead to a national dialogue on the potential legalization of marijuana for economic reasons as well as a better take on the war on drugs.