New research has shown that 13-15% of young Australians would try cannabis if it the recreational use of cannabis was legalised.
The research was carried out by researchers from the University of Queensland through the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research and the School of Psychology. In total, over 3,000 adolescents (aged 12-17) and young adults (aged 18-25) were included.
The study shows that if recreational cannabis was legalised, 13% of adolescents and 15% of young adults would try the drug. From this group, only 15% of the adolescents and 41% of young adults had previously used cannabis.
UQ Researchers also discovered that adolescents and young adults who had previously used cannabis would increase their cannabis use if the drug was legalised. Nation-wide, a total of 2.5 million Australians use cannabis – 11.7% of the population.
According to lead researcher Dr Janni Leung, the results of this study can be used to determine the types of educational campaigns, regulations and treatment services Australia would need if recreational cannabis use was legalised.
Our study gives policymakers and health service providers a glimpse of the potential impacts of cannabis legalisation on adolescents and young adults in Australia.
Interestingly, Dr Leong’s previous work found that the legalisation of medical cannabis did not seem to increase cannabis use in adolescents living in the US.
This is consistent with drug use here in Australia, as reported by the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS). While cannabis use increased by 1.2% since 2016, it’s more popular with older people than younger people.
Released last month, the 2019 NDSHS survey also found that more Australians want the recreational use of cannabis legalised than oppose it. To read the full story, click here.