When California decriminalized marijuana for all its citizens in 2011, there were predictions that the state’s teen-agers would suffer all manner of social and legal problems. But a new report issued by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice found that the actual results in the Golden State were very positive for teens, including lower arrest and dropout rates.
The report, and others like it, may make it harder for opponents of legalization fighting the advance of marijuana reform efforts across the country. The “doomsday” outcomes they have been forecasting have simply failed to materialize.
Here is a quote from the report: ” … marijuana decriminalization in California has not resulted in harmful consequences for teenagers, such as increased crime, drug overdose, driving under the influence, or school dropout. In fact, California teenagers showed improvements in all risk areas after reform.”
David Borden, the executive director of StopTheDrugWar.org, is not surprised by the findings.
“Discussion of marijuana legalization often focuses on mental health harms that increased use could cause,” Borden said. “But one also needs to consider the mental health damage being done to young people through participation in today’s criminal market, particularly in the inner cities. Research has found that drug dealing involvement increases the risk of youth engaging in violence or drug use; suffering behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problems; or having impaired school performance.”
California was not the only bright spot highlighted in the report. Other states that liberalized their marijuana laws also saw significant reductions in their crime statistics.
Check out this Washington Post story summarizing the study’s findings. Or read the full report by clicking this link.
Marijuana.com writer Tom Angell contributed to this report.
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