“We did not find compelling evidence that the implementation of adult-use marijuana sales was associated with an immediate increase in lifetime or P30D marijuana use among middle school youth in Nevada, which aligns with previous research,” the study says.
By Ben Adlin, Marijuana Moment
New federally funded research into the impacts of marijuana legalization on youth use found no association between legal adult-use cannabis sales and the prevalence of consumption among middle-school students.

To test whether legal sales led to an uptick in youth use, authors compared middle-school use rates in Nevada and New Mexico, looking at 2017 and 2019 data from two state-run surveys. At the time, adult-use marijuana sales were legal in Nevada, while New Mexico allowed only medical marijuana.
In both states, researchers found increases in the proportions of students that had ever consumed cannabis as well as those who had consumed within the past 30 days.
In Nevada, the share of middle-school students who said they’d ever consumed cannabis rose during the study period, from 9.7 percent in 2017 to 13.3 percent in 2019. Past 30 day (P30D) use also rose, from 6.3 percent to 8.9 percent.
Recent Posts
Workers Are Leaving the Trump Coalition
March 15, 2026
Take Action Now New survey data show that many of Donald Trump’s 2024 working-class voters are already wavering. But most aren’t turning to Democrats…
The Billionaires’ War
March 14, 2026
Take Action Now The ultrawealthy put Trump in power but other people will pay the priceBy Paul Krugman, Substack It becomes clearer with each…
The Quiet Way Trump Has Made Life Easier For Polluters
March 12, 2026
Take Action Now It’s not just about environmental rollbacks: Trump and Lee Zeldin have presided over a striking decline in the EPA enforcing existing…
Coalition Demands Schumer, Jeffries Step Down Over Failure to Fight ‘War-Crazed’ Trump
March 12, 2026
Take Action Now “Schumer and Jeffries have shown that they cannot be trusted to prevent more wars, more threats of wars, or the transfer of another…




