Legalizing recreational weed has not reduced youth use as expected, Canadian study finds

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Summary

Using cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches, weed use was considered at two school years before legalization (in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018) and at one point after (in 2018-2019). Just how legalization has influenced youth use of weed is decidedly mixed. “Though many investigations have detected few harmful consequences, others found that youth were adversely affected,” study authors write. Trying to characterize overall use trends among youth pre- and post-legalization, investigators reviewed data about secondary students at 76 schools in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec from the COMPASS study. For respondents 18 to 24, 36 per cent had used weed. More recently, an analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information confirmed what many have reported for some time: COVID-19 has ratcheted up cannabis and alcohol use.

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Canada legalized recreational cannabis more than two years ago, but the passage of time has not translated into the anticipated lower use among young people, notes an evaluation of study data involving 100,000-plus youths.

“High prevalence of youth cannabis use in this sample remains a concern,” notes the pre-proof study recently published online in Preventive Medicine Reports, an open access companion journal to Preventive Medicine. “These data suggest that the Cannabis Act has not yet led to the reduction in youth cannabis use envisioned...

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