Marijuana use and high school graduation: it’s complicated

By Christopher Ingraham September 18

A study published in Lancet last week raised some eyebrows for describing a strong link between frequent marijuana use and a variety of negative outcomes, particularly lower high school graduation rates. As I wrote at the time (and as plenty of other observers have pointed out), while the study provides compelling evidence of a link, the direction of causality isn’t clear.

But that hasn’t stopped opponents of marijuana legalization from using the findings to argue that increased marijuana use will lead directly to lower graduation rates. This week, for instance, the Washington Post’s editorial board cited the findings as part of an argument against D.C.’s November ballot measure that would legalize marijuana. An Australian medical news outlet headlined its story on the findings with “Cannabis use catastrophic for young brains.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/18/marijuana-use-and-high-school-graduation-its-complicated/