According to new research, teenagers who watch medical marijuana ads are more prone to smoking marijuana themselves.
Lead study author and senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, Elizabeth D’Amico, remarked, “Our findings suggest that increased exposure to medical marijuana advertising is associated with increased marijuana use and related negative consequences throughout adolescence.”
“This work highlights the importance of considering regulations for marijuana advertising that would be similar to rules already in place to curb the promotion of tobacco and alcohol across the United States,” she also said.
The researchers noted that twenty night states as well as Washington D.c. allow the sale of medical marijuana while nine states as well as Washington D.C. allow the sale of recreational marijuana.
The study, which tracked 6,500 Southern California students from middle school to high school between 2010 and 2017, was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
According to the study, those teenagers who watched medical marijuana ads saw an increase in marijuana use. Just 25 percent of the teens saw at least one of these ads within the previous three months in 2010. By 2017, this exposure rate jumped to 70 percent.
The kids who saw more medical marijuana ads were likely to have used the drug themselves within the last month and more likely to admit they would use it within the next six months.
