The 2014 Monitoring the Future report issued by the University of Michigan and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse indicated that, in the midst of increased national discussion about cannabis policy, and the incipient legalization of the plant in two states at the time of the study, teen use of the plant continued to decline.

It is interesting to note that while adolescent use rates decline, adults are increasingly choosing marijuana for both therapeutic and social use. The (conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) notes that between 2002 and 2013, “Current marijuana use among 12 to 17 year olds declined from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2005, remained similar through 2008, then increased to 7.9 percent in 2011 before decreasing again to 7.2 percent in 2012 and 7.1 percent in 2013.”

It is interesting to note that while adolescent use rates decline, adults are increasingly choosing marijuana for both therapeutic and social use. The results of the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) notes that between 2002 and 2013, “Current marijuana use among 12 to 17 year olds declined from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2005, remained similar through 2008, then increased to 7.9 percent in 2011 before decreasing again to 7.2 percent in 2012 and 7.1 percent in 2013.”

By contrast, for adults 26 and older, “…the rate of current marijuana use in 2013 (5.6 percent) was similar to the rate in 2012 (5.3 percent), but it was higher than the rates in 2002 to 2011 (ranging from 3.9 to 4.8 percent).”

The 55-and-up age group subset saw even larger percentage increases in the 2002-2013 timeframe, perhaps reflecting the number of us who are treating the aches and pains of aging with a safe, natural plant therapy. Or who, when offered two legal options for social relaxation, choose the one that is non-toxic and less addictive.

The probability of transitioning from first use to dependence varies widely among substances: 15.6% for nicotine, 11% for alcohol, and 5.9% for cannabis. Cannabis policy that aims to help that 5.9% via prevention, education and treatment is laudable. Cannabis policy that stigmatizes or criminalizes the remaining 94.1% is stubbornly unrealistic, at best.

This is not to say that adolescents should use marijuana. It does indicate that education and prevention programs which rely on fear mongering simply don’t work when the facts are readily available. In a legal, regulated environment, our discussions with kids about the risks of marijuana must evolve to match the facts.

Cannabis is safer than either alcohol or tobacco. It is still not for children (barring serious illness). As public policy moves, however slowly, to accommodate that fact, so too must the conversations regarding this plant we have with, and about, youth.