Teens Smoke More MJ Than Tobacco

[Samantha in Salem]

Toke of the Town - More Teens Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes: Government Study

More Teens Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes: Government Study
By Steve Elliott in Culture, News Monday, Dec. 14 2009 @ 9:55AM

​The federal government just released the latest 'Monitoring The Future' survey of teen drug use, and as Bruce Mirken over at the Marijuana Policy Project wrote, "the results do not bode well for current policies."

In the past 30 days, more high school seniors smoked marijuana (20.6 percent) than smoked tobacco (20.1 percent), according to the survey.

In 2009, marijuana use in the prior 12 months was reported by about 12 percent of the nation's 8th graders, 27 percent of 10th graders, and 33 percent of 12th graders.

While teen marijuana use is slightly up, it's in the same general range it's been in for years; meanwhile, teen tobacco use continues to decline, and has dropped precipitously since 1990.

"Regulation of tobacco, combined with solid educational campaigns, has clearly cut youth access to cigarettes," Mirken said, "It's time for officials to take off their blinders and apply those same proven policies to marijuana."


MPP.org
Legalizing medical marijuana doesn't increase teen pot use.
​Although mainstream media -- including reporter David N. Goodman for AP, who should know better -- predictably tried to blame the increase on medical marijuana, there is one striking exception to the general rise in teen marijuana use: In states where medical marijuana is legal, use by teens has actually gone down.

"So far, we have not seen any dramatic rise in marijuana use, but the upward trending of the past two or three years stands in stark contrast to the steady decline that preceded it by nearly a decade," said University of Michigan researcher Lloyd Johnson, the study's main investigator.

​"Not only is use rising, but a key belief about the degree of risk associated with marijuana use has been in decline among young people even longer, and the degree to which teens disapprove of use of the drug has recently begun to decline," Johnson said. "Changes in these beliefs and attitudes are often very influential in driving changes in use."

While teen marijuana use is slightly increasing, the majority of illicit drugs covered in the study showed little further change this year -- so much for the gateway theory!

Most drugs are at levels of use that are considerably below the recent peaks reached since the mid-1990s. These include ecstasy, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, tranquilizers, and three so-called "club drugs," Rohypnol (the "date rape" drug), GHB, and ketamine.

Alcohol use has generally been in a long-term, gradual decline at all grade levels, with past-month prevalence having fallen from recent peak levels by more than 40 percent among 8th grades, by more than 25 percent among 10th graders, and by about one sixth among 12th graders. This year only the 8th graders showed a continuation of the decline, while use in the upper grades leveled off.

Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of about 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students are surveyed. The project has been funded under a series of grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Teen marijuana use tilts up, while some drugs decline in use


More High School Seniors Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes — MPP Blog

[TheBongTokin]

ya thats so true i sure find that i smoke more weed than ciggys

[Locnar]

thats because they load up fat bong rips to see who can take the biggest hit, then end up pulling most of the weed through into their bong, then drink the bong water claiming it makes them hallucinate.

[tim]

this is true.

i'm 16 and i have never even put a cigarette in my mouth. no offense to anyone who smokes them but the only people i ever see smoking cigs are usually white trash/wiggers.

i do smoke cigars and cigarillos, though. makes me feel classy

but i rarely even smoke those.. its usually only once or twice a month. however i smoke weed every day - in the morning before school, during lunch, then before going to bed. i have found smoking tobacco greatly enhances the high, however. plus the taste of a really good (aged tobacco, hand rolled, south american, etc.) cigar is just orgasmic when stoned

[theblanketbong]

Im like you man.

People find it so weird that I smoke a fair bit of bud but have never taken a single drag of a normal ciggie

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by theblanketbong

Im like you man.

People find it so weird that I smoke a fair bit of bud but have never taken a single drag of a normal ciggie

Ha i'm the exact same dawg. Never have never will let that shit in my lungs. Cigs are so ignorant. I'd much rather tell my kids i've smoked pot than a cigarette

[Sircatfish]

Smoking cigs does nothing for me, I'll have one once in a while when I drink but I don't even like em that much, I used to work at a gas station where I could just steal as many smokes as I wanted so I smoked quite a bit. Now though, I'd rather stick with something that won't give me cancer or drain my bank account.

Its crazy how many teens smoke weed and I'm assuming thats an american study. I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers were higher for canadians (Get it? higher!!!!)

[Raf96]

im smoke ciggs and weed ben smoking them since i was 10 but i only smoke like 2 ciggs a week

[simOnlimOn..]

well hmmm what can i say, I'm not in eight grade or 12 grade , i started smoking when i was like 16 (rarely), then when i was 17 - 18 i really started smoking cigs, I'm 23 now and i haven't stopped, but, i started smoking weed when i was around 20, i used to do other "harder" drugs since i was younger, weed changed my world, and i noticed that when i smoke regularly i smoke a lot less cigs and drink less alcohol, the alcohol part is because of the "high" i want to achieve but the cigs part is strange, still kicks ass because as much as i love cigs i know how harmful they are to me, and it helps me cut down..

[neogitus]

"monitoring the future" more like invading peoples personal space and spying lol i love the government