Lil’ Smokies

By Bill Maher

Legalizing marijuana in Colorado has not led to an increase in pot use by teens in the state. In fact, it seems to have led to a decrease. Which surprises even me. You’d think there’d be some increase in marijuana use among teens once it was legal, but no.

A newly released survey from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that, in 2015, 38 percent of Colorado teens reported having ever tried pot. That’s down from 42.6 percent in 2009. Last year’s survey also found that 21 percent of teens in Colorado had used pot in the last 30 days. The national average in 2009, before legalization, was 25 percent. The only change seems to be teens are no longer getting fooled into buying bags of oregano.

I have two theories: Number one, pot is now normal, something mom and dad do while they’re watching the Food Network, and teens don’t want to do what their parents do. 

Number two, legal pot has decimated the black market, so teens don’t have a dealer they can buy from. Now pot and booze are on equal footing: they need to borrow a fake ID to get either one.