A new study brings the world of medical marijuana into a new light. With several states considering legalizing medical marijuana, the following confessions from adolescents should be kept in mind…
The Teens Fess Up
Researchers at the University of Colorado asked 164 teens who were enrolled in substance abuse treatment programs about the way they used medical marijuana. Out of these adolescents, an astounding 121 admitted to using medical marijuana that was not prescribed to them. According to the study, this illegal use of other people’s medical marijuana was not a one-time incident. The teens confessed they had used marijuana an average of 50 times each. That totals approximately 6,050 illegal uses of marijuana between these 121 teenagers.
The Reality
Medical marijuana may have medicinal applications, but it is very likely to be abused. Teens who are prescribed medical marijuana allow other teens to use it, and even some adults share their medical marijuana with adolescents. Prescription marijuana is not distributed like other types of medicines, which allow only a certain amount of the drug over a specific period of time. Instead, in certain states, recipients of medical marijuana have access to medical marijuana dispensaries, also known as ‘cannabis clubs’ which have dozens of strains to choose from, many of them grown to be considerably stronger than others. This leads to abuse and contributes to these teenagers enrolling in substance abuse treatment programs.
To Legalize or Not to Legalize?
Before deciding to legalize marijuana, the likelihood of the drug being abused should be taken into consideration. Hopefully this study brings to light how medical marijuana affected the lives of these 121 adolescents and would undoubtedly lead to more abuse and addiction. Medical Marijuana may help many people, but legalizing such a popular recreational drug without the proper regulations is a recipe for abuse, addictions and problems. (Photo via)
