Teen use of marijuana does not increase with legalization, U.S. top drug researcher admits

U.S. policy does not listen to science
Shepherd Express (US)
Wednesday, September 8, 2021

nora volkowFew individuals have as much influence on drug policy in the United States as Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), whose tenure at the head of the federal government’s top drug research institution started in 2003. In a new interview, Dr. Volkow came to admit that she was wrong about her expectations relating to the legalization of marijuana and that pro-legalization advocates were in the right. Ethan Nadelmann, founder of Drug Policy Alliance and pro-marijuana activist, challenged Volkow on his show. Volkow acquiesced, admitting, “I was expecting the use of marijuana among adolescents to go up, but overall, it hasn’t.”