The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is acknowledging that, even as more states have legalized marijuana, youth cannabis use has “declined” over the past several decades.
As part of an online quiz on DEA’s “Just Think Twice” platform, the agency asked about a variety of drug trends, including questions about substance use disorder, drug overdose deaths, signs of a heroin overdose and cannabis use among youth.
Notably, the answer to one question about past-year marijuana use by adolescents and teens directly contradicts a frequently debunked prohibitionist narrative about the risks of state-level legalization, with anti-cannabis organizations claiming the reform would drive more teens to use marijuana.