Legalizing marijuana and its effect on adolescent behavior and health in the USA: Risk and opportunity

Abstract

There is no adolescent malady that does more damage or is more preventable than adolescent substance misuse. If we are unable to reduce the burden of substance abuse, it will be virtually impossible to make progress toward improving adolescent health in any meaningful way. The apprehension over legalizing marijuana for adult use in the USA is the concern and fear that legalizing marijuana will increase the risk of adolescent use, abuse, and dependence. Opponents predict marijuana abuse will increase. Moreover, they predict marijuana will be more available to children and adolescents, which will result in more adolescent marijuana and drug abuse. Proponents of legalization argue that adolescents currently have unfettered access to illegal marijuana, and legalization and regulation will provide more controls. Furthermore, there is undisputable evidence that arresting a young person for possession of marijuana has a negative effect on the adolescent in the present and throughout their lives (Svrakic et al. in Missouri Medicine 109:90-98, 2011). Both positions on legalization are logical, but neither can be used to predict the effect that legal marijuana will have effect on adolescent behavior and health. What can be used to help predict the effect of legal marijuana is the experiences of 23 states (out of the 50 in 2015) in the USA that have legalized marijuana. To that end, in this chapter, we will emphasize research and studies conducted within states that have legalized marijuana in the USA.