--- description: Marijuana use amongst Colorado teenagers has declined slightly since the state legalized recreational pot use among adults title: Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d894789a62eb63c/69885ff6f887dc9949e91f11/gettyimages-461673181.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 2:57 PM CUT  Marijuana inside the Evergreen Apothecary in Denver, Colo. Marijuana inside the Evergreen Apothecary in Denver, Colo.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 2:57 PM CUT Marijuana use amongst Colorado teenagers has [declined slightly](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/colorado-s-teen-marijuana-usage-dips-after-legalization/ "undefined") since the state legalized recreational pot use among adults, according to a recent study. A poll by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment showed that the percentage of high school students in Colorado who using pot was smaller than the national average, according to _Scientific American_. “The survey shows marijuana use has not increased since legalization, with four of five high school students continuing to say they don’t use marijuana, even occasionally,” the department said in a statement. According to the poll, 21.2% of Colorado teens used marijuana in 2015, which was down form the 22% in 2011, a year before [recreational cannabis use for adults was approved statewide](http://time.com/4003262/colorado-pot-revenue/ "undefined"). The national rate of pot use by teens is somewhat higher at 21.7%, according to _Scientific American_. Some 17,000 students were surveyed by the department, which conducts the survey every two years in conjunction with the University of Colorado. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4378142/colorado-teen-marijuana-lower-after-legalization/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4378142/colorado-teen-marijuana-lower-after-legalization/"},"headline":"Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization","datePublished":"2016-06-22T14:57:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:46:19.906Z","description":"Four out of five high school students nationwide don't smoke pot","url":"https://time.com/4378142/colorado-teen-marijuana-lower-after-legalization/","keywords":["Marijuana","Colorado"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d894789a62eb63c/69885ff6f887dc9949e91f11/gettyimages-461673181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d894789a62eb63c/69885ff6f887dc9949e91f11/gettyimages-461673181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization","caption":"Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4378142/colorado-teen-marijuana-lower-after-legalization/","name":"Teen Marijuana Use Dips in Colorado After Legalization"}}]}] ```