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Educating Teens Strikes Blow at Tobacco Numbers

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Youtube, smartphones, Facebook, reality TV and Rickrolls certainly may represent a new generation that has no idea about vinyl album artwork or Woodstock.  However a new study may show even more evidence of a cultural shift.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its findings from a new study that shows U.S. teens are smoking marijuana more than cigarettes.  Several decades ago, youth cigarette smoking was way more common than marijuana smoking.  With education and more information regarding the risks of smoking, the gap has steadily been closing between the two.  During the 1990s 14.7% of high school teens had smoked marijuana within 30 days of taking the CDC survey.  In 1997, 36.4% of high school students had smoked at least one cigarette in the past month of participating in the survey.  In recent years teen cigarette and marijuana smoking numbers started to mirror each other but the numbers now show a definitive trend toward increased marijuana smoking and decreased cigarette smoking.  The new study indicated that 23.1% of teens had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days while only 18.1% had smoked a cigarette in the same time.

These numbers highlight an increasing generational gap.  Experts cite education and rising pricing in cigarettes for the decline.  There has also been a growing effort to id customers and increased penalties for selling to minors.  We all understand how the finances can impact accessibility but decades of propaganda cannot keep up in an age where information is shared instantly.  Tobacco education worked because cigarettes actually do cause many of the things we have been taught to fear.  Many of us have family members who have suffered heart attacks or have developed cancer that has been linked to cigarette smoke.

However, what was a successful education campaign for cigarettes is anything but for marijuana.  Big Tobacco would never have tolerated exaggerated lies to be taught about their products so educators had to rely on the truth.  Without such a giant advocacy group for marijuana, propaganda was able to run wild, until recently.  Often, teens understand the computer age better than their parents and online patient testimonials and new marijuana research is published, the scare tactics have lost their effect.  If we are truly concerned with a rise in teenage cannabis use, then there has never been a more obvious argument for regulation.  If a marijuana purchase required an i.d. and was locked behind a store counter, then teens may be less likely to use it.

The Millennials (also known by many names such as Generation Y) are known for demanding evidence and are accustomed to sharing information at a much quicker pace than older generations.  Since authorities have not presented evidence other than hearsay and propaganda against cannabis, millenials do not seem to be worried about marijuana.   A recent article describes their increasing distrust of the government.  One statistic truly exemplified the shift in attitudes.  Of the 18-29 year olds polled, 69% felt that community service was an honorable deed while only 35% felt the same about running for public office.  In theory the two are supposed to be viewed the same, even as that seems naïve in this day and age.  The world is changing and it is changing quickly.  We are living in an age where those governing have no idea how to deal with a new block of voters, a changing interconnected global economy, and a failed marijuana policy.

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