Most teens in Washington state have begun using less marijuana since it's legalization, finds a new study.

‘Legalizing marijuana reduced pot use in teens. But, working youth were more likely to use marijuana before and after legalization. States legalizing marijuana may consider executing interventions to support healthy behaviors among working youth.
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Marijuana use went down significantly among 8th and 10th graders after legalization, and among 12th graders who didn't work. It stayed nearly even for high school seniors who work less than 11 hours per week.Read More..





Washington was one of the first states to approve the legalization of marijuana for retail sale, with recreational cannabis stores opening in mid 2014.
The authors were interested in knowing whether legalization in Washington made a difference in marijuana use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who work in jobs that don't include household chores, yard work or babysitting. They used data from the state's biennial Healthy Youth Survey from 2010 and 2016 in their study.
No matter what grade the students were in, those who worked 11 or more hours per week reported using marijuana more often than their non?working peers.
Post-legalization, 4.8 percent of non-working 8th graders reported using pot within the last 30 days, while 20.8 percent of their working peers did. Among 10th graders, 13.9 percent reported using marijuana within the last 30 days in 2016, versus 33.2 percent of 10th graders who worked 11 or more hours per week. The difference for 12th graders was 20.5 percent nonworking, versus 36.7 percent working.
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So what's a parent of an older teen to do?
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The study also suggests that employers could take action by advertising and enforcing zero-tolerance policies of adult employees providing substances or endorsing substance use to their adolescent coworkers.
Source-Eurekalert