Recent research shows that approximately 30 percent of college students report using marijuana in the past year (SIUC, 2012:1). Not only is marijuana use common on college campuses, but it is the most frequently used illicit drug in the world (Erickson, Van Der Maas, and Hathaway, 2013:428). In the United States, public support for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use is substantial. In fact, a 2013 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans favor legalization of marijuana (Swift, 2013:1). In response to such public support, both Colorado and Washington passed state initiatives in 2012 to legalize recreational use of marijuana for individuals aged 21 years and older. Moreover, while initially the federal government vowed to continue to enforce federal drug laws within these states, they have recently reversed that position.;Of course, along with these changes to marijuana laws come arguments from opponents of legalization about the negative impact of such laws. A commonly expressed concern about such policies is what effect they may have on the prevalence and incidence of marijuana use. Among some, it is commonly accepted that these laws will increase use as the fear of punishment is removed. The axiomatic assumption of such arguments is that strict laws against possession and use of marijuana are effective deterrents. However, previous research on deterrence suggests that this may not be the case. In fact, the relatively high prevalence rates for marijuana use on college campuses nationwide suggests that current laws do not deter some college students. If this is true, it may also be true that legalization will not significantly increase use among college students. Thus, this study examines the potential effect of legalization on the prevalence of marijuana use.;The current study found that marijuana use was relatively high with approximately 41 percent of respondents who self-reported using marijuana in the past 12 months. Additionally, approximately 55 percent of respondents reported using marijuana in their lifetime. This study also found that those who do not currently use marijuana are unlikely to use in the future even if marijuana were legal and legally available.
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机译：最近的研究表明，过去一年中约有30％的大学生报告使用大麻（SIUC，2012：1）。大麻不仅在大学校园中很普遍，而且是世界上最常用的非法药物（Erickson，Van Der Maas和Hathaway，2013：428）。在美国，公众对用于娱乐用途的大麻合法化的支持十分可观。实际上，2013年盖洛普（Gallup）的一项民意调查发现，有58％的美国人赞成大麻合法化（Swift，2013：1）。为了响应公众的这种支持，科罗拉多州和华盛顿州均在2012年通过了州计划，以合法化21岁及21岁以上的人娱乐性使用大麻的行为。此外，尽管最初联邦政府发誓要继续在这些州内执行联邦毒品法，但他们最近改变了这一立场。当然，随着对大麻法的这些更改，反对者也对这种法律的负面影响提出了质疑。 。人们普遍对此类政策表示担忧，认为它们可能对大麻使用的流行和发生率产生何种影响。其中，人们普遍认为，由于消除了对惩罚的恐惧，这些法律将增加使用。这种争论的公理假设是，反对拥有和使用大麻的严格法律是有效的威慑力量。但是，先前有关威慑的研究表明情况可能并非如此。实际上，全国大学校园中大麻使用的相对较高的流行率表明，现行法律并没有阻止某些大学生。如果这是真的，那么合法化也不会显着增加大学生的使用率。因此，本研究调查了合法化对大麻使用率的潜在影响。；当前研究发现，大麻使用率相对较高，在过去12个月中约有41％的受访者自我报告使用过大麻。此外，大约55％的受访者表示一生中都在使用大麻。这项研究还发现，即使大麻合法且合法，但目前不使用大麻的人将来不太可能使用。
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