11.30
Every now and then I like to get your opinion about an issue in the world of weed.
Many studies have come out saying that youth who use marijuana have a higher rate of alcohol abuse, a higher rate of STDs and higher rates of incarceration/juvenile detention (resulting from non-marijuana related offenses) than those who don’t smoke marijuana. These studies imply that one of the reasons these youth have these problems is because they smoke marijuana. This is actually one of the arguments of the infamous ‘War on Drugs’. However, causation has not been proven. In other words, it has not been proven that these youth have these problems because they smoke marijuana, only that youth who have these problems smoke more marijuana than youth that don’t.
So, what are your thoughts? It’s pretty obvious (in my opinion at least) that smoking marijuana will not increase a youth’s chances of committing a crime (besides the ‘crime’ of possessing the marijuana). Why might there be a positive correlation between marijuana use and alcohol abuse rates, incarceration rates and STD rates among youth?
Feel free to comment below or email me at drblaze@vansterdamclothing.com.
Happy blazing!
Professor Blaze
About the author Hi students. Professor Blaze here! I've been studying both the scientific and social aspects of marijuana for the last 30 years, and I consider myself an expert on the topic. Read more from this author
A correlation between two things does not mean one causes the other. There is most often a third factor… In the case of youth using marijuana, all of the problems you’ve listed are correlated with socio-economic status as well. And that is a much better indicator of likelyhood to offend than marijuana use. Regardless, kids shouldn’t be smoking weed unless it is recommended by a doctor to do so. =p