Marijuana use continues to become legal in more places, but that doesn't mean the drug's popularity among adolescents is growing, a new study finds.
Although disapproval of marijuana use has decreased dramatically among young adults — suggesting that this age group is viewing the drug less negatively — that's not the case for younger adolescents, according to the study.
The researchers found that disapproval of marijuana use has actually increased among adolescents ages 12 to 14. In 2013, 79 percent of kids in this age group said they strongly disapproved of people using marijuana, up from 74 percent who said the same in 2002. [Where Americans Smoke and Grow Marijuana (Maps)]
The finding "was surprising," given the growing legalization of the drug, said Christopher Salas-Wright, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Texas at Austin and the lead researcher on the study, published Sept. 16 in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
In the study, the researchers looked at data collected between 2002 and 2013 in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a yearly survey of about 70,000 randomly selected people ages 12 and older. The researchers looked at three groups of adolescents and young adults: younger adolescents (ages 12 to 14), older adolescents (ages 15 to 17) and young adults (ages 18 to 25).
In addition to investigating how teens and young adults viewed marijuana use, the researchers looked at how the rates of marijuana use have changed over time.
