Antededents and Outcomes of Marijuana Use Initiation During Adolescence
Ellickson P.L. et al., "Antecedents and outcomes of marijuana use initiation during adolescence," Preventive Medicine 39, issue 5 (November 2004): 976-984.
While federal officials regularly note with alarm that marijuana use is associated with poor grades, this study suggests that poor grades may be a cause of teen marijuana use, not the result. Interestingly, school grades were often a stronger predictor of future marijuana use than were attitudes or beliefs about marijuana. This suggests that prevention programs focusing only on attitudes and beliefs (such as the U.S. government's anti-marijuana ads) are at best an inadequate approach. MPP believes young people should not use marijuana, and this study indicates that those who start using marijuana as young as grade 7 are more likely to have problems later. But claims of harm should not be exaggerated.
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