Now That It’s Legal, Colorado Teens Think Pot Is Less Cool
“It’s something that kids are seeing adults use all over the place. It just doesn’t seem as cool to kids anymore.”
In 2012, the state of Colorado legalized recreational use of marijuana. At the time, and pretty much since that time, some studies have been indicated that legal pot means everyone will smoke pot a whole lot more. Apparently, this hasn’t been borne out in the real world.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, marijuana use among Colorado teens has gone down slightly since the state legalized recreational cannabis use in 2012.
If the trend holds, it would undermine a key argument of anti-legalization forces in other states, who often stress the potential for increased marijuana use by teens.
Even more interesting is that surveys indicate that teens now view pot as less risky than they did back in 2011 by 4%, from 58% to 54%. This sort of bolsters my personal theory that teens pretty much only do things that they believe they’re not supposed to do and at least one marijuana vendor in the state seem to agree. According to cannabis businessman Kayvan Khalatbari:
“Cannabis, now that it’s legal, kind of is an old person’s drug,” he said. “It’s something that kids are seeing adults use all over the place. It just doesn’t seem as cool to kids anymore.”
New suggested marijuana slogan: “Pot, the Facebook of recreational drugs.” 
