A team of researchers across the nation have carried out a study on the effects of cannabis decriminalization on youth cannabis consumption.

The study was led by Washington University with the aim of squashing prohibitionist rhetoric that says decriminalization encourages consumption. The results of the study demonstrated how the number of cannabis-related arrests plummeted in places that decriminalized the drug.

Interestingly, researchers discovered “no increase in cannabis use among youths” in five U.S. states from 2008 to 2014. Those states were, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland and Massachusetts.

“Our results provide additional evidence that decriminalization can be accomplished without an increase in youth drug use. These findings are consistent with the interpretation that decriminalization policies likely succeed with respect to their intended effects and that their short-term unintended consequences are minimal,” the researchers from the study said.

Cannabis study disproves the prohibitionist mindset

This study explored the effects of cannabis decriminalization on youth cannabis consumption. It measured the differences between state arrest data and federal cannabis arrest data, with hopeful results.

Juvenile cannabis consumption charges seemed to drop by 75 percent after cannabis was decriminalized. Adult arrests came in close behind. In order to determine if cannabis decriminalization could have a long-term influence on youth cannabis consumption, further research is required.

Why? Well, the plant is classified as a schedule 1 drug at the federal level, which makes it difficult for researchers to conduct medical studies.

Cannabis legalization could improve police efficacy

Based on the results of this study on the effects of cannabis decriminalization on youth cannabis consumption, WSU researchers came to the conclusion that decriminalization would not reduce the time frame from which plant possession leads to the imposition of civil penalties and fines.

“Decriminalization of cannabis in [the researched states] resulted in large decreases in cannabis possession arrests for both youth and adults, suggesting that the policy change had its intended consequence. Our analysis did not find any increase in the prevalence of youth cannabis use during the observation period,” concludes the study.

The WSU study on cannabis also demonstrated how legal weed may improve police efficacy in Colorado and Washington.

“Our models show no negative effects of legalization and, instead, indicate that crime clearance rates for at least some types of crime are increasing faster in states that legalized than in those that did not,” wrote the authors.

If cannabis is decriminalized, the WSU researchers believe that it will grant police department members the opportunity to deal with alternative types of crime.