Increase in Teen Marijuana Use Due to Failed Policies (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2010

CONTACT:  Jonathan Perri, SSDP National Associate Director – (401) 265-9445

Increase in Teen Marijuana Use Due to Failed Policies, 

Not Medical Marijuana
More High School Seniors Now Smoking Marijuana 

than Cigarettes, According to Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Officials at Students for Sensible Drug Policy claim that a new survey by the University of Michigan showing the highest rates of marijuana use among young high school seniors in the last three decades is the direct result of the failed policy of marijuana prohibition.  Over 20% of high school seniors reported smoking marijuana compared with only 19% reporting smoking cigarettes.  

“Because marijuana is available on the black market, high school students have easier access to it than they do to cigarettes,” explained Jonathan Perri, Associate Director at SSDP. “Drug dealers aren’t going to ask for an ID before they sell drugs. If marijuana were regulated and taxed like alcohol or cigarettes, it would be more difficult for young people to purchase.”

At a press conference in Washington this week, the White House drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, blamed the increase on the debate surrounding marijuana legalization and state medical marijuana laws around the country.

“If the drug use numbers go down even slightly, the ONDCP takes credit for it, but when they go up, they don’t want to reassess their own failed policies. There is no evidence that medical marijuana laws have resulted in a national increase in use among high school seniors - if anything, young people no longer believe the reefer madness that the federal government has been spreading about marijuana for years," said Perri.

The group argues that regulating marijuana like cigarettes would be more effective at reducing use. “Tobacco use has become unattractive to young people through prevention education and by keeping the drug in a legal but regulated market with heavy taxes imposed,” continued Perri. “It’s time to do the same with marijuana.”

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities, but who also know that the War on Drugs is failing our generation and our society. SSDP mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while fighting back against counterproductive Drug War policies, particularly those that directly harm students and youth.

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Boy with bloodshot eyes suspended on suspicion of smoking pot. Turns out his dad was dead.

Earlier this month on September 14, Kyler Robertson was suspended by the administration at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas. The administration thought his eyes were red from smoking pot. It turns out his dad had been stabbed to death that previous Sunday.

Kyler stopped by the main office to pick up a tardy slip as he returned to school on Tuesday to be with his friends. School employees accused him of smoking pot due to his red and watery eyes and he was suspended for three days. Kyler was not given a test for drug use. Instead, “when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes,” said District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver. Testing is left to the parents.

After his mother had him tested and the results came back negative, Kyler was permitted to return to school. Kyler’s mother is appealing the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record.

Go get ‘em, administrators. It seems that reefer madness is still very much alive at Byron Nelson High School. Stamp out the terrible scourge of reefer causing children to talk back to their parents, wear their pants low, and cause vehicular manslaughter. Be sure to get those with hay fever.

High School Newspaper Canceled for Marijuana Legalization Editorial

The Big Spring Independent School District in Texas decided to censor Big Spring High School's semester closing issue of the school's paper, The Corral, because it contained a pro-marijuana legalization editorial written by a student. District Superintendent Steven Saldivar took the action because he said the editorial ran contrary to the district's long-stated position on drug usage.

"We were embarrassed by it," Saldivar said. "At the same time we're trying to get kids to see the dangers of using drugs, (The Corral) ran that editorial. In no way do we advocate legalizing drugs, so we didn't feel this was something that was in our best interests to support."

Recently graduated Editor-in-Chief Marisa Nieto doesn't see why the editorial is considered inappropriate.

"I just couldn't believe that someone was making such a big deal out of such a little thing in my eyes," she said. "It was just an editorial on legalizing marijuana and giving facts on it. That's it."

It would seem that students have a right to freedom of speech. However, in the 1980's, the Supreme Court ruled public schools have the final say when it comes to student publication content. In protest, Big Spring High School journalism teacher Bill Riggs resigned. Some Big Spring residents were also unhappy with the decision.

"Why are we going to only provide them with a minimum of what the ideas and concepts of what journalism are?" Big Spring resident, Lisa Trejo, said. "So they can be prepared for what; half-way (knowledge) of how to do their job when they get into the real world, because their ISD wanted to protect them? That's not fair."

A zero-tolerance policy on the open discussion of drug use and prohibition is really a step backwards. It is this kind of close mindedness that prevents us from collectively progressing towards a more just and compassionate future. 


While the Supreme Court  has ruled that school districts can censor school publications, the Court has also ruled, thanks in large part to SSDP, that free speech about drug policy reform is protected in schools and students can not be punished for discussing drug policy. 


We hope to see a SSDP chapter start at Big Spring High School.

Teachers Suspended for Showing Flex Your Rights Video

Flex Your Rights, founded to educate the public about constitutional rights during police encounters, has been embraced by both the police and the public. Every citizen should understand their basic Bill of Rights protections, so it's completely understandable why two high school teachers in Virginia decided to show "BUSTED: A Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters" to their 12th grade government classes. Unfortunately, the two Norview High School teachers were put on leave this week after a parent complained that they showed a video and distributed handouts that gave advice on how to deal with police if stopped.

"She came home recently and said, 'You wont believe what we are learning in Government. They are teaching us how to hide out drugs,'" the parent recounted.

The message and intent of the teachers has been clearly misinterpreted. In each scene of BUSTED, it is explains how legal rights apply to police searches of vehicles, homes, or individuals and how people can cite those rights during police encounters. As the commentator on the video states:

"Whether or not you break the law, this video is designed to explain what the law is and how you can legally and properly assert your constitutional rights through even the most stressful police encounters."

As we know, millions of these encounters occur each year in America. Young people, who are targets in many of these encounters, deserve to be educated in how to handle these situations. People who not only understand their rights, but also know how to apply them are less likely to make regrettable decisions, reducing the likelihood of negative outcomes for both individuals and officers of the law. Flex Your Rights had this to say:

"Unfortunately, as we work to provide this important public service, we do sometimes receive criticism from individuals who misinterpret our discussion of constitutional rights as an endorsement of breaking the law. It's not. We sometimes depict and discuss criminal activity in our materials because there are important legal lessons that are difficult to illustrate without it. Police are trained both to fight crime and uphold the constitution, and there are numerous instances in which these interests come into conflict with one another. Depicting such scenarios makes our work realistic, but should not make it controversial."

Please click here to share your concerns with the school administration.

Strip Searching Students is Not Ok. Duh!

I'm not sure what the school administrators were thinking when they decided it was necessary to strip search 13 year old Savannah Redding because they suspected she was hiding ibuprofen in her underwear. Not only did the humiliating and unconstitutional search not find any of that oh-so dangerous ibuprofen, but those who carried out the search contended that they had done nothing wrong.

After years of going from court to court, Redding, now 19, finally has some closure. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that her consitutional rights were violated by the school. However, they also ruled 7-2 that the school officials "are nevertheless protected from liability through qualified immunity."

Savannah did what too many young people are afraid or intimidated to do - she stood up for herself and for her rights in the hopes that she might be able to stop this from happening to another young person.

"It frustrated me that everyone else could see that it was wrong, except for the people that did it," Redding said.

Boy. If that doesn't sum up what its like to be a drug policy reformer - I don't know what does!

Thank you Savannah!

Cracking down on sober driving

Under 18? Smoked pot in the past 30 days? A new bill in the Illinois state legislature would deny you access to a drivers license, just for having THC metabolites in your system.

Good thing our good friend Pete Guither was interviewed by the press so he could inject some common sense into the debate. (FYI: Pete is the author of the quintessential drug policy blog Drug WarRant and faculty advisor of SSDP's kick-ass chapter at Illinois State).

"I think it is ridiculous, silly, inappropriate and ineffective. Here's the issue. Really what you need to be dealing with when it comes to driving is impaired driving. Drug testing at the time of permit or license has absolutely nothing to do with that. What it does is simply go out of its way to target young people who have used marijuana, regardless if it has anything to do with their driving," Guither said.

"The drug test would probably be very specifically targeted at marijuana because its metabolites can stay in the system for days, so that is what can be tested. It would be silly to say, 'We're going to test people that have had a drink of wine two days ago. That is a reason for them not to be drivers.'"

[snip]

According to Guither, every study done has shown that alcohol is the more dangerous factor when it comes to road safety.

"It is not even a close consideration with marijuana, which is somewhat in the same area as cell phone usage and being tired," he said. "It's really just a way for Congress to act tough. It is just not constitutionally a good idea."

Great work, Pete!