In 2013, only 7% of American Adults said they were pot users. Today, 14% of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana. Over 7 million Americans smoke marijuana on a daily or near daily basis. About 2.8 million Americans meet the clinical criteria for dependence and 2.1 million for abuse.
For the past twelve years, 3rd Millennium Classrooms has been in the forefront in developing marijuana intervention programs for teens and young adults. Our course, Marijuana 101 is used by hundreds of colleges and courts in 50 states.
We have been reading and thinking about the ongoing marijuana legalization efforts in our country. We believe the current approach to legalization being adopted in several US states—-commercialization on the alcohol model —-is a bad idea. As one researcher put it, “this model will most likely yield big increases in problem use because compulsive users are the most profitable customers.”
We’re not advocates for marijuana legalization and want to make that clear. However, we copied 5 bullet points that might protect some kids from their lack of self-control. This came from the research team and co-authors of the book, MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION.
- Keep prices close to current levels
- Minimize financial incentives of industry participants that encourage heavy use
- Minimize the power of industry participants to shape public policy
- Limit marketing that makes marijuana use seem more appealing
- Discourage the use of marijuana in combination with nicotine or alcohol
