New Study Suggests Teens Lack Understanding of Marijuana Law

OMAHA, Neb., March 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Boys Town National Research Institute and the University of Washington recently published a study, funded by the National Institute for Public Health, about parent and teen opinions regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington State.

The study found that teens indicated that the recreational marijuana law in Washington resulted in little change in their attitudes or the likelihood that they will use marijuana.

The study also found parents and teens uncertain about the details of the new law. The legal age limit is 21 years, adults can possess up to one ounce, and homegrown marijuana is not allowed. Only 49% of adolescents selected the correct possession amount for recreational marijuana use in the state of Washington. A mere 25% of adolescents correctly responded to all three questions.

"We were surprised that parents and teens didn't know the legal age limit," said W. Alex Mason, Ph.D, Director of Research at the Boys Town National Research Institute. "We also found that there was a lot of uncertainty about what is legal and what is not."

In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first U.S. states to legalize non-medical marijuana use. Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C. passed marijuana legalization measures last November.

"As new states are taking on legalized marijuana, we need to have public information campaigns to make sure people have the information they need," Kevin Haggerty, director of the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington and a co-author of the study said. "This study convincingly points out that people don't have good information about the new law."

The study surveyed 115 low-income families including parents and teens attending middle schools in Tacoma, Washington. It found that while 70 percent of parents said they talked about marijuana laws with their children, those conversations were infrequent.

About Boys Town
Nationally, Boys Town has been a beacon of hope for America's children and families through its life-changing youth care and health care programs for more than 90 years. In 2014, Boys Town's Integrated Continuum of youth care and health care programs impacted more than 500,000 children and families across America. This includes those who received services from Boys Town's residential programs as well as those served by the many varied programs that comprise the Boys Town Integrated Continuum of Child and Family Services, including In-Home Family Services, health care services provided by Boys Town National Research Hospital and the Boys Town National Hotline.

About the University of Washington
Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest public institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the world's preeminent research-intensive universities, with more than 100 members of the National Academies, elite programs in many fields, and annual standing since 1974 among the top five universities in receipt of federal research funding. www.uw.edu.

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