PUBLIC OPINION > Teen Marijuana Use Is Not That Big of a Deal
SodaHead News
2012/05/04 16:00:00
We've done polls on marijuana in the past, and typically voters give it the polling equivalent of a shrug. Even if they don't smoke it or condone it, it's not as dangerous as alcohol and not worth fussing over. But a recent survey shows teen marijuana use is on the rise -- nearly 10% of teens are smoking 20 times a month or more. No wonder it's California's biggest cash crop! Teen use can be scary, though, as the longterm effects of marijuana use on developing brains is still unclear, and bad habits can form in those early years. So we asked the public if the increase in teen use is cause for concern.
Again, the majority feels marijuana is just not that big of a deal. Even with teens, the sentiment seems to be, "Better weed than alcohol." The Top Opinion read, "Sure I would prefer they didn't do all of these things but when you look at the alternatives kids that want to get high really bad probably will, and if it's not marijuana it will probably be something dangerous." Yes, weed can be bad. It can be habit-forming, and it can glue you to the couch. But hey, at least they aren't drinking hand sanitizer.
Fluctuating Feelings
Teens themselves were exactly in-line with the overall vote -- exactly 41% are pretty concerned. As voters got a little bit older, in their early 20s, that number dipped to 29% concern. Then it worked its way back up to 57% as voters entered their 50s. Age definitely showed a pattern, but the change of heart was slow-turning, reversible, and not very passionate.
Reluctance From the Right
The two demographics that showed considerable resistance were Christians and conservatives, both coming in at about 65% concern. It's not that they think marijuana is going to destroy the youth, they're just reluctant to give it a green light. No pun intended. Plus, it's illegal, which certainly adds weight to the issue from a right-leaning perspective.
Shrug From the Smokers
As usual, smokers tend to back the marijuana users. Drinkers, too, though not as much. It would be silly to condemn the use of marijuana when you're indulging in a relatively risky substance yourself. As far as we know, like the Top Opinion said, tobacco and alcohol have more risk involved. You might be better off without it, but weed never killed anyone. Not officially, at least.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about teen marijuana use. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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wilsonmja 2012/05/05 01:05:53
+19Conservatives crack me up. From a conservative you would likely hear "guns don't kill people, people do." I happen to agree with the sentiment behind that. However, I also believe that drugs don't ruin lives, people ruin lives. For some reason a conservative cant see how it's the same thing.
We only need to look to the railroad industry to see the cost involved with the many train wrecks where smoking pot was the issue!!!!
Even if pot becomes legal, it won't be tolerated in the workplace any more than legal alcohol is!
If someone smokes pot they won't work in America, as drug tests are sweeping the nation in every field, because smoking pot stays in your system for weeks if not months, so you can't get away with stopping for a few days to pass a drug test.
I don't think so.
Once you cros that line, your screwed employment wise untill you quit for a few months!
If that happens, and it will, no business will be able to purchase medical insurance if they do not test for drugs in the workplace, and government will not allow any business to stay in business if they do not offer some kind of medical insurance. If they don't hire anyone who does drugs, they won't have to pay for any 1 time drug treatment, now will they ?????
Do you not see how that scenario is going to work with this new Obama healthcare scamm?????
Both democrat and republican leadership support this logic.
That's why I'm with the green party, because the green party wants marijuana classified the same as alcohol, meaning consumption on a persons own time (time not at work) is allowable, as alcohol is allowable by law during a persons own time not work...
If that happens, and it will, no business will be able to purchase medical insurance if they do not test for drugs in the workplace, and government will not allow any business to stay in business if they do not offer some kind of medical insurance. If they don't hire anyone who does drugs, they won't have to pay for any 1 time drug treatment, now will they ?????
Do you not see how that scenario is going to work with this new Obama healthcare scamm?????
Both democrat and republican leadership support this logic.
That's why I'm with the green party, because the green party wants marijuana classified the same as alcohol, meaning consumption on a persons own time (time not at work) is allowable, as alcohol is allowable by law during a persons own time not working for an employer.
Your political leaders don't want you to be able to do that, they want you to be their drones while they do as they please.
That logic needs to change if We The People are to have our pursuit of happiness, as our Constitutions Bill of Rights states !
Ignorance is their fallback!!!!
The government are the people who put out all those 1960's posters about "Killer Weed", and that if you smoke weed you could grow breasts, but that last one kind of backfired on them because even though men slowed down smoking pot, women started smoking more to make up for it, lol.
The government has research stating smoking pot could last for weeks just from one joint, lol.
Articles ???????
Drug testing has been around since the 1970's ! Every year it gets greater as people stoned cause accidents on the job, where have you been????
First of all in 1987-The Chase, Maryland train collision , Amtrak's Northeast Corridor
The Conrail locomotive crew failed to slow down at the signals with a speed at the time of the collision estimated at about 108 miles per hour. Fourteen passengers on the Amtrak train were killed, as well as the Amtrak engineer and lounge car attendant who tested positive for marijuana.
Second, In 2004 there were 3.4 million admissions to emergency rooms for job related injuries by people who tested positive for marijuana.
In 2005 there were 1.2 million more, and for every 100 thousand injuries there are 5700 deaths either by the person who tested positive or people they killed while working, like running them over by a forklift.
(This was a study by the Rand corp. Center for Health and Safety in The Workplace).
You can read the whold report for yourself at rand.org
But I'm not intimidated by such illogical people.
I know what I'm doing is pro-America, and all the other political parties are pro-foreign nations which will in the long run hurt Americas economy causing it to become just another 3rd world nation.
You have a nice day.
I like how easily transferable that defusing generalization of drug use works out.
Meat is mood altering, right?
Yes harvard researdh shows reduction in cancer growth with marijuana use.
1/ In 2007, the American Medical Association (AMA) reported that lab mice with lung cancer were treated with THC, the most prevalent cannabinoid in marijuana. This particular research was completed by Anju Preet, PhD, a medical research specialist from Harvard University. The results, in a nutshell, demonstrated that lung cancer tumor growth rates were cut by 50% – and significant prevention of carcinogenic spreading (malignancy) was recorded.
I support legalizing, regulating, and taxing it. Right now it is easier for teens to get Pot than alchohol because alchohol is regulated.
One of them even died.
Get over it. You don't know everything about medical conditions and your ignorance shows in your defensive comment.