Teenagers suffer higher rates of addiction when recreational cannabis is legalised - study

14 Nov 2019

New research about legal cannabis has revealed a sobering statistic. In states where recreational marijuana has been legalised, teenagers are suffering higher rates of addiction.

The study of 505,796 respondents was carried out by researchers from New York University's School of Medicine.

It compared use of the drug before and after legalisation in the US. 

The proportion of people aged 12 to 17 who reported cannabis use disorder grew from 2.18 percent to 2.72 percent.

Chris Wilkins, a senior drug researcher at Massey University says the research is a "red flag".

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