The cannabis ban is NOT a deterrent

 03/08/2020

 LOOKAH

New research from the University of Kent across 38 countries shows that the cannabis ban doesn’t deter experimentation with teenagers. Shocker, I know. In news that comes as no surprise, a new study shows legalization doesn’t result in a higher rate of teenagers. I feel like this has been covered earlier and in depth. Oh look I’m right A study by Washington State a few years ago during 2016 showed that legalizing recreational cannabis in the state had not led to an increase in teenage use. In fact, the opposite turned out to be the case, with fewer teenagers trying and using cannabis regularly. Another study published in 2017 showed that teenage cannabis use was at its lowest level in 20 years!

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, that argument that legalization is kind of bad for the youth persisted. Hopefully a similar and more comprehensive study done on a much larger scale by the University of Kent will put all of this to rest once and for all.

The study was conducted on 100,000 teenagers in 38 different countries including the UK, US, Russia, Germany, France and Canada. One thing you might notice is that all of these countries have different levels of strictness when it comes to their cannabis laws. Recreational cannabis is legal in Canada and parts of the United States, for example.

The results were enlightening to say the least. They showed that strict cannabis policies did not affect whether teenagers tried or not. In other words, the ban is not a deterrent. Do we have to say it again for the people in the background? The cannabis ban is not a deterrent to cannabis use.

Professor Alexander Stevens, who conducted the research, said these results would certainly be of benefit to other governments considering legalization, or at least decriminalization. Recently, more and more countries have revised their previous positions on cannabis prohibition. These results are sure to help fuel the struggle for legalization in the years to come. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure proponents of the ban will continue to lie openly about cannabis. I am a realist. Even so, it’s hard to deny such hard data, especially when it happens over and over again.

Article from Grasscity.com