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Regulating Marijuana Use in the United States: Moving Past the Gateway Hypothesis of Drug Use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Jason F. Arnold  and
Robert M. Sade
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Abstract

Many studies have shown that marijuana can negatively affect the cognitive development of adolescents. For some individuals, marijuana use may also initiate opioid use, dose escalation, and opioid use disorder. States that legalize marijuana should help adolescents through regulation of advertising and availability of marijuana-infused edibles. Such policies may assist in protecting neurodevelopment of the adolescent and young adult brain. The federal government should also remove its prohibition of marijuana sales and use, leaving their regulation to state law-makers.

Type
Symposium Articles
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 48 , Issue 2: Opioid Controversies: The Crisis — Causes and Solutions , Summer 2020 , pp. 275 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2020

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