Shedding light on pot legalization

Mason Tvert Refutes 'No On 64' Talking Points On Marijuana Legalization

Matt Ferner, HuffPost

Has the legalization of medical marijuana increased the use of the drug by teens? Well, according to a provocative new study by economists at the University of Colorado Denver, the answer appears to be a resounding: "no."

"There is anecdotal evidence that medical marijuana is finding its way into the hands of teenagers, but there's no statistical evidence that legalization increases the probability of use," Daniel I. Rees, an economics professor at the University of Colorado Denver who worked on the study, said in a written statement.

In the wake of the release of this study, we spoke with Mason Tvert, co-director of Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the marijuana advocacy group behind Colorado's Amendment 64, to shed some further light on the issue of marijuana legalization. If teen use has not gone up with increased availability, perhaps other ideas about pot use are also misunderstood?

Amendment 64 seeks to legalize marijuana for recreational use for adults and will appear on Colorado ballots this November. This will be the second time Coloradans will vote on recreational pot legislation -- state voters considered and rejected a similar recreational pot legalization initiative in 2006.

(More here.)