Marijuana Policy Project

WASHINGTON — Efforts to turn up marijuana enforcement have not turned teenagers away from the drug, according to a new report.

The D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project hopes to reach a point where possession of minimal amounts of marijuana is legalized in the United States, according to the group’s communications director.

MPP released data this week that Bruce Mirken said shows that prohibiting adults to use marijuana does nothing to deter youngsters from partaking themselves.

By looking at figures from a number of federal agencies and comparing it with similar information from countries that do allow marijuana usage, Mirken said the MPP has concluded that there is "little or no evidence that prohibition of marijuana by adults prevents use by teens and there are some hints in the data that it may increase teens' usage."

"We're seeing a lot of the forbidden fruit principle at work," he told The Examiner on Monday. "And it (criminalizing marijuana use) definitely may encourage the gateway effect in teens, where they try marijuana and then try other drugs."

In fact, according to MPP’s calculations, the overall rate of marijuana usage in the U.S. has risen by about 4,000 percent since the plant was first outlawed.

In contrast, in the Netherlands, where adults have been allowed to purchase small amounts of the drug for the past 30 years, the rate of teen marijuana use is lower than in this nation.

The head of public affairs for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy said Tuesday the group’s study "couldn't be more inaccurate."

"Their conclusions are just silly on so many levels," said Tom Riley. "This is a like a group saying, 'We've discovered two plus two is five.' No, it’s like them saying, 'Two plus two is seven,' not even close."

Riley said annual reports out of the University of Michigan have shown that marijuana use by teens has gone down more than 20 percent in the past four years. Riley said the top reason more young Americans have said no to the drug is its illegality and the impact that might have on their lives if caught.

"They don't want to mess up their futures," Riley said.

Examiner staff writer Erica Jacobson contributed to this report.