Pubdate: Mon, 31 Dec 2012
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2012 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Charles E. Ramirez

U-M: TEEN POT USE ON DECLINE

Views Conflict on Whether Looser Laws Would Cause Rise,
Fall

Detroit - Teen consumption of marijuana appears to have leveled off,
but advocates for and against legalization disagree on whether looser
drug laws could reverse that trend.

A survey released this month by the University of Michigan showed
reported marijuana use dropped or stayed flat in 2012 among eighth-,
10th- and 12thgraders, after rising the previous three years.

The Monitoring the Future Survey pegged the percentage of students who
used marijuana within the past year at 11.4 percent for
eighth-graders, 28 percent for 10th-graders and 36.4 percent for
12th-graders.

Lloyd Johnston, a U-M research scientist and the study's principal
researcher, said it's not clear why usage levels stopped rising this
year.

That's especially puzzling, he said, because the study found a growing
number of young people view marijuana as benign.

"We don't really know what was behind it," Johnston said. "Normally,
we would look for the attitudes and beliefs to change in a way that
would explain it, but they're actually moving in the opposite direction.

"Perceived risk is still falling, which you would associate with an
increase in use, not a leveling off."

According to the study, the percentage of 12th-graders who perceived
great risk in marijuana use fell from 25.8 percent in 2008 to 24.5
percent in 2010 and 20.6 percent in 2012.

The softening of attitudes about marijuana among high school students
occurs as several states have taken steps to liberalize marijuana laws.

Michigan voters approved a measure allowing medical marijuana in 2008
and, last month, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana
use by adults over 21.

That trend worries substance abuse professionals such as Monique Hayes
Stanton, president and CEO of Care of Macomb, a Fraser-based nonprofit
that provides substance abuse rehabilitation and other services.

"I think the number of kids who use marijuana will go up if it's
legalized," she said. "It'll create a false sense of security that
there is not as much risk or potential for harm with its use."

Proponents for legalization argue it will reduce teen
use.

"You can get marijuana in any middle school in the United States,"
said Matt Abel, a Detroitbased attorney who is executive director of
the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

"But you can't get alcohol in them because alcohol is regulated. If we
regulate marijuana, there will be less accessibility to our youth."

The U-M study examines behaviors, attitudes and values of American
students and young adults. Funded by the National Institutes of
Health, the Monitoring the Future Survey has been conducted by U-M's
Institute for Social Research since 1975.

Researchers poll about 50,000 students in 395 secondary schools across
the country.

Johnston said this year's findings include some troubling trends.
Among them: This year's past-year usage rates are still high compared
with those from five and 10 years ago.

Also worrisome, Johnston said, is daily use of marijuana remains
relatively high. After rising in all three grades the last few years,
it was flat in 2012.

According to the survey, 1.1 percent of eighth-graders, 3.5 percent of
10th-graders and 6.5 percent of 12th-graders are daily marijuana users.

"That's pretty heavy use among 12th-graders," he said. "It's about one
in every 15 high school seniors using marijuana daily or nearly every
day."

In addition to the freeze in teen marijuana consumption, the survey
also found the use of synthetic marijuana, known as K2 or spice,
remained steady at an annual prevalence rate of 11.3 percent for
12th-graders.

Annual prevalence rates for eighth-graders and 10th-graders were 4.4
percent and 8.8 percent, respectively. Both were measured for the first time.

Johnston said even though marijuana use among teens has not increased,
it doesn't mean there's no cause for concern.

"I think the fact that the perceived risk continues to fall doesn't
bode well for the future," he said. "We may well see the upturn continue." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D