If it’s regulated, won’t it keep marijuana out of the hands of our youth?

  • Currently, the majority of teens in treatment for substance abuse are there because of marijuana addiction. These numbers will inevitably rise if marijuana is legalized and access is easier.
    Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University “Non-medical Marijuana II: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?” April 2004
  • Alcohol and tobacco are legal for individuals over set ages, but there is unlimited data that proves that youth abuse these substances regularly, despite age restrictions. .
    Source: American Legacy Foundation. 2000 National Youth Tobacco Survey. 2001 and Summary of Findings from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, August 2000 and Wagenaar, Alexander C., "Alcohol Compliance Checks: A Procedures Manual for Enforcing Age-of-Sale Laws," University of Minnesota Alcohol Epidemiology Program, May, 2000.
  • Prescription drugs are legal, but their abuse by teens has reached epidemic levels
    Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy, “Teens and Prescription Drugs: An Analysis of Recent Trends on the Emerging Drug Threat” and National Institute on Drug Abuse

  • It is frequently stated that the black market for marijuana would disappear if it were “regulated” or legalized, but this has not been the case historically because there is always a black market amongst youth who are underage to purchase- this is still the case with tobacco and alcohol. Source: Monitoring the Future, National Results on Adolescent Drug Use, Overview of Key Findings, 2003, Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. and American Legacy Foundation. 2000 National Youth Tobacco Survey. 2001 and Summary of Findings from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, August 2000.

  • Because this black market will not go away, organized crime will always stand to benefit from the sale and distribution of such a substance