According to the study, conducted by Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, youth who smoke pot before the age of 17 are 18 times more likely to become addicted, eight times more likely to use other drugs and 60 percent less likely to graduate from high school. Perhaps most disturbing is that pot users are seven times more likely to attempt suicide.
“Our findings are particularly timely given that several U.S. states and countries in Latin America have made moves to decriminalize or legalize cannabis, raising the possibility the drug might become more accessible to young people,” said Richard Mattick, a professor at the University of New South Wales who co-authored the study. (Reuters)
Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.