Teenagers using less marijuana in age of legalization

[Logical]

A new study published The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse has found that teens are using marijuana less frequently and are less attracted to it now that it is decriminalized or legalized at the state level.

The data challenges many assumptions about how changing cannabis laws may impact children.

Opponents of legalization often tout scientifically unsupported notions about teen marijuana use.

For example, here in Pennsylvania, representatives from the substance abuse treatment industry, the District Attorneys Association and Pa. Fraternal Order of Police spoke during House committee hearings against allowing marijuana for medical use, in part, because they fear youth use will somehow increase. But the truth is that teen use is declining and that young people may be finding far less allure when cannabis is regulated.

The study, conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, looked at data spanning from 2002 to 2013 in the federal National Home Survey on Drug Use and Health. They found that younger teens aged 12 to 14 years old showed an impressive 25 percent decline in cannabis use from 6 percent in 2002 to 4.5 percent in 2013.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/philly420/Philly420_Teenagers_using_less_marijuana_in_age_of_legalization.html

[Sunlei]

1. teens smoke less too, many still drink to much and the porn industry targets the teens early.

[Igel]

2. The decline is small in the last few years.

And started before legalization. It's also observed in states without legalization.

"Teens are using marijuana less frequently and are less attracted to it now that it is decriminalized or legalized at the state level" is true, but unrelated as far as anybody can tell. However, we're wired to assume that since the speaker puts them together they must be connected.

That is one kind of linguistic manipulation, where we're led to assume that the second part is relevant to the first. The first kind of relevance that comes to mind is causality, which happens to be the post-hoc fallacy. (Really. Basic discourse pragmatics should be taught in 9th grade. You've learn to read fluently, they should teach the kids to read intelligently.)