Dear Dr. Wes & Kendra,

I saw your column about marijuana use. What concerns do you have about how legalization might affect teen and young adult use of other drugs or the drug economy in general?

Wes: Bottom line: Fifty years of drug education and interdiction have failed. In preparing for the radio show I talked to a number of young adults — including the two we had on the program — and found myself surprised at their answers. All agreed that marijuana is so passé for teens and young adults that it’s a part of nearly every young life, more so than alcohol, even if one does not use. Many teens deal weed, though most do it informally and on a small scale. Young women often get it for free, much as they might a free drink at a bar from an admiring guy. When asked about the statistics cited in the last column (23% of high school students admit using marijuana in the last 30 days), all laughed and agreed that number wasn’t even close. Their general estimate was closer to 65 to 70% of peers. One said she knew no one who did not use at least moderately.

But that’s not what surprised me.

Asked whether they thought legalization might push young culture toward harder drugs, all indicated that this ship had already sailed. Though none knew each other, most attended different colleges or high schools, and all varied in their own use histories, all agreed that prescription drugs (Adderall, Xanax, Oxycontin, etc.) were common among both high school and college students. For collegians, cocaine, moly (a refined form of ecstasy), LSD, and even the horse tranquilizer Ketamine are now on the party drug menu.

While everyone I spoke to favors legalization of marijuana–including nonusers–each felt that the old saw about it being a “gateway drug” was more legitimate than most young people want to admit. As one Coloradoan put it, “I think legalization has desensitized people to the whole idea of drug use, so they’re more ready to try harder drugs,” which she noted to be readily available in good supply.

Alcohol remains the most destructive drug on the market–as long as you ignore the damage the illegal drug economy has done to our southern neighbors–and illegal drugs have been prevalent since the ’60s. What’s new however, is the greater level of use among a broader section of the population. This comes on the tail of a long, failed “drug war” that has done nothing to curtail that trend. It’s hard to say what’s next, but we can safely guess it won’t be cultural moderation, much less abstinence.

Kendra: Although many of the regulars of Downtown Lawrence may argue otherwise, the legalization of marijuana could change the game completely and reveal some startling truths about the drugs’ health dangers.

Scientifically there’s no evidence of long-term detrimental health affects of marijuana. However, this may be due to a lack of research and willing subjects to explore the use of cannabis in individuals’ every day lives. Legalizing marijuana could allow for more study and thus more information to be revealed and more myths to be debunked.

With these drugs more readily available, teens may have easier access. Just as it is easy now for a teen to get alcohol from someone who is 21, teens would immediately have an even easier way to get marijuana if it were legalized. But also like alcohol, adults have to keep in mind that they could get into serious legal trouble for providing underage teens with a substance.

However, economically, opening up marijuana sales to the general public would be undeniably beneficial. There’s no doubt that the black market has been successful in its sales.

Even non-potheads can agree that in college towns like Lawrence, legalization monetarily makes sense. But in ultra-conservative Kansas, the potential dangers of marijuana use may scare away entire cities before more knowledge is aggregated.

On the Air: Hear Dr. Wes and a panel of teens discussing the effects of legalization in Colorado and the future it may portend for harder drug use on the KCUR Up to Date podcast via www.dr-wes.com or at KCUR.org.

Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his practice Family Psychological Services at dr-wes.com. Kendra Schwartz is a Lawrence High School senior. Send your confidential 200-word question on adolescence and parenting to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.