Citation

American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Substance Abuse, American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Adolescence. Pediatrics 2015; 135(3): 584-587.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2014-4146

PMID

25624383

Abstract

This policy statement is an update of the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement “Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth,” published in 2004. Pediatricians have special expertise in the care of children and adolescents and may be called on to advise legislators about the potential impact of changes in the legal status of marijuana on adolescents. Parents also may look to pediatricians for advice as they consider whether to support state-level initiatives that propose to legalize the use of marijuana for medical and nonmedical purposes or to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. This policy statement provides the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics on the issue of marijuana legalization. The accompanying technical report reviews what is currently known about the relationships of marijuana use with health and the developing brain and the legal status of marijuana and adolescents’ use of marijuana to better understand how change in legal status might influence the degree of marijuana use by adolescents in the future.

Language: en