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A top U.S. federal drug policy official recently admitted that her prior fears that cannabis legalization would lead to an increase in teen marijuana use failed to materialize, saying that reform advocates were "right" about the impact cannabis policy change would have on young people. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), also said that she supports continued drug policy reform at the federal level. Appearing on the podcast "Psychoactive" with Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, Volkow said that she was "expecting the use of marijuana among adolescents would go up" with the legalization of cannabis at the state level, but admitted that "overall, it hasn't." Volkow, who has led NIDA since 2003, said that the impact of cannabis policy reform has varied, noting that some "states that have legalized actually have better outcomes" while "the adverse effects of marijuana use are much worse in some states." "Understanding what policies basically protect from negative effects and may actually lead to better outcomes is crucial," she said. "And we're funding it." But Volkow also acknowledged that research into the benefits and potential dangers of cannabis has been hampered by federal drug policy that makes obtaining marijuana for scientific studies "extraordinary cumbersome, and as a result of that, researchers don't want to get into the field." The NIDA director also indicated that the agency, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, would continue funding research into the therapeutic use of psychedelics. "We have been funding research that is ongoing—on ketamine for opiate treatment and also ketamine for pain," she said. "For PCP, if you look at the data, actually, the evidence is strongest for showing potential benefits for depression." "We need to learn from what the evidence is showing us," she continued.…
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Source : Federal Drug Official Admits Legalization Doesn't Increase Teen Use
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