Study says teen use of marijuana is down in Colorado

A newly released federal study shows there are fewer teens using marijuana in Colorado.

But teens said that’s not at all what they’re experiencing.

“It’s like all around school,” Dalton Holm said. “Drugs, alcohol, going to parties. That’s a constant thing that’s always like at the parties.”

The study released by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows last year in Colorado just over 9 percent of 12-17 year-olds reported using marijuana in the past month. But two years before that, a little more than 11 percent did.

“So far we can’t point to anything that would say youth behavior has changed,” former Colorado marijuana czar, Andrew Freedman said.

Freedman told KRDO NewsChannel 13 in November data on teen use in the state hasn’t changed.

“So far every statewide statistic that we have has not shown a statistically significant change in youth use,” Freedman said. “It’s been flatlined,”

Freedman did say specific areas in the state might have seen a difference locally.

But for teen Aidan Kirk, the data doesn’t matter when it comes to teens using marijuana.

“I feel like you’re going to smoke pot and do drugs, you’re going to do that whether it was legal or not,” Kirk said.

Colorado is ranked 7th highest in teen marijuana use among all other states, while Alaska topped the list with the highest teen use.