--- title: Legalized Pot Does Not Lead to Wider Use Among Teens, Study Finds description: Researchers find no measurable impact from legalization of medical marijuana in 21 states canonical: https://time.com/3922534/legalized-marijuana-teens-study/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-16T13:19:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:14.767Z article:section: Health og:title: Legalized Pot Does Not Lead to Wider Use Among Teens, Study Finds og:description: Researchers find no measurable impact from legalization of medical marijuana in 21 states og:url: https://time.com/3922534/legalized-marijuana-teens-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana In California To Appear On Nov. Ballot og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Legalized Pot Does Not Lead to Wider Use Among Teens, Study Finds twitter:description: Researchers find no measurable impact from legalization of medical marijuana in 21 states twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Teens Don't Smoke More Pot After Medical Marijuana Laws Passed, Study Finds > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids [Watch (HLS stream): Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6Ic4KUCK.m3u8) (16:16)  _Published 2014-10-21. The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. A look inside the quasi-legal, science free world of medical marijuana for children from TIME's Red Border Films_  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 16, 2015 1:19 PM UTC  One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group March 25, 2010 in Berkeley, California. One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group March 25, 2010 in Berkeley, California. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 16, 2015 1:19 PM UTC New research has cast serious doubts on the argument that legalization of medical marijuana would lead to more widespread use among teenagers. The study, which was published Tuesday by Columbia University researchers in the _The Lancet Psychiatry,_ examined marijuana use among more than a million teenagers over 24 years. The researchers found no discernible impact in the 21 states that had legalized the drug for medical use. “The risk of marijuana use in states before passing medical marijuana laws did not differ significantly from the risk after medical marijuana laws were passed,” the co-authors [wrote](http://press.thelancet.com/AdolescentMarijuana.pdf). While researchers observed no discernible change after the laws were passed, they did find drug use rates were generally higher in states that had legalized marijuana. “State-level risk factors other than medical marijuana laws could contribute to both marijuana use and the passage of medical marijuana laws, and such factors warrant investigation,” the authors [concluded](http://press.thelancet.com/AdolescentMarijuana.pdf). ### Go Inside the Harvest of Colorado's Most Controversial Marijuana Strain  Charlotte's Web grows on the Stanley brother's farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014\. The Stanley Brothers have developed a popular strain of cannabis that has been found to be helpful in reducing seizures in some children. Charlotte's Web is high in a compound called cannabidiol (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the compound that causes a high. Matt Nager for TIME  Charlotte's Web grows on the Stanley brother's farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  From left: Zachary Sobol, Michael Atchley, and Jared Stanley walk to the farm to prepare for harvest of Charlotte's Web near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Rows of Charlotte's Web await harvest at the Stanley brother's farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Jared Stanley helps in the harvest of Charlotte's Web on the Stanley brother's farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Colin Sparks searches for seeds during the harvest of Charlotte's Web on the Stanley brother's Charlotte's Web farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Discarded leaves of Charlotte's Web at a farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Tim Knight helps in the harvest of Charlotte's Web on the Stanley brother's farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Rows of Charlotte's Web await travel to a drying facility after being harvested on a farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Zachary Sobol catches a ride on a trailer to the Stanley brother's farm during harvest of Charlotte's Web near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Rows of Charlotte's Web await travel to a drying facility after being harvested from a farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  One of the Stanley brother's greenhouses growing cannabis near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Zachary Sobol hangs rows of Charlotte's Web to dry after harvest in Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Penn Mattison, left, and Zachary Sobol, right, hang rows of Charlotte's Web to dry after being harvested from a farm near Wray, Colo. on Sept. 22, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  The Stanley brothers' new company laboratory in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  A petri dish full of cannabis explants await transfer and transplanting at the Stanley brothers' lab in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Molecular plant biologist and lab manager Bear Reel awaits the cooling of agar to help induce rooting of transplanted cannabis plants at the Stanley brothers' company laboratory in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  The lab notebook of molecular plant biologist and lab manager Bear Reel at the Stanley brothers' company laboratory in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  A flask of agar cools before explants of hemp are transplanted to help induce rooting and new growth at the Stanley brothers' company laboratory in in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. Matt Nager for TIME  Tissue cutter technician Meg Regan holds a vial of explants before sanitizing and transplanting at the Stanley brothers' laboratory in Boulder, Colo. on Sept. 23, 2014. 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