A group supporting medicinal use of marijuana released a report refuting the federal government's position that medical use will increase overall use.
The report by the Marijuana Policy Project reviewed the 10 states with medical marijuana laws on their books, beginning with California in 1996.
The study -- co-authored by MPP's Legislative Analyst Karen O'Keefe and University of Albany Psychology Professor Dr. Mitch Earleywine -- shows every state has reported a drop of overall marijuana use.
In California the number of ninth graders who said they used marijuana within the past 30 days dropped 47 percent since 1996.
In Washington state, the lifetime and current marijuana use of sixth graders dropped by 50 percent.
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Alaska, Oregon and Colorado also showed declines in use.
Medical marijuana laws in Vermont and Montana were passed in 2004 so data couldn't be collected.
In 1996, then-U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Thomas A. Constantine warned against the California proposition. He said it would send a mixed message to young people and encourage them to use marijuana.
The authors wrote the study shows only that the warning about increased marijuana use was wrong -- not that medical marijuana laws are responsible for reduced overall use of marijuana.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
