More Teens Using Marijuana in Colorado

A new study released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows some interesting data about marijuana usage among teenagers in all 50 states. However, the most notable piece of information garnered from the study is the fact that Colorado is now considered the state with the most teen marijuana users within the last month. That's not likely to be a huge surprise given the fact that the state legalized marijuana for recreational purposes in 2012.

If the new data reported is indeed correct, Colorado has quickly made its way up the ranks from third place in similar reports conducted by the HHS in 2012-2013 and 2011-2012 when the third and fourth spots were held by the state. The first place spot was easily earned due to a 12.7% usage rate among those ages 12+, 11.2% among those 12-17 and 29.1% for those ages 18-25. Collectively, that's a 20% increase!

The HHS report quickly snagged the attention of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organization aiming to ride the line between marijuana reform and legalization. Kevin Sabet, president of SAM, said in a recent press release about the newly released data, "Move over, Rhode Island. Now that Colorado has legalized and widely commercialized marijuana, their children use marijuana regularly more than children in any other state. In Colorado especially, Big Marijuana has been allowed to run wild, and it appears that kids are paying the price more than in any other state in the country."

We suppose it could be worse, right? At least there hasn't been a recent report landing Colorado in the number one spot for MDMA use given its growing popularity in Denver...yet!