New US survey shows increase in teen cannabis use - Eurad

The rate of eighth-graders saying they have used an illicit dr

ug in the past year jumped to 16 percent, up from last year's 14.5 percent, with daily marijuana use up in all grades surveyed, according to the 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF). 

"These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and pre-teen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. "Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 6 people who start using it as adolescents become addicted."

Perception of cannabis changing 

Since California made 'medical' marijuana legal under state law in 1996, the state has seen a number of efforts to legalize the drug and today, almost half of the Californians who seek drug treatment cite marijuana as their primary substance of abuse are teens.

Fewer students reported disapproving of drug use or believing in the risks associated with use.

Past surveys have found that such 'softening' of teen's perceptions of harmfulness has signaled future rises in the rates of drug use.

"We should examine the extent to which the debate over medical marijuana and marijuana legalization for adults is affecting teens' perceptions of risk," said Dr. Volkow. "We must also find better ways to communicate to teens that marijuana use can harm their short-term performance as well as their long-term potential."

(Tables by NIDA, National Institute on Drug Use)