Cannabis Legalization and Adolescent Behavioral Health: Are Current Policies Sufficiently Protecting Adolescents?

• By: Brooke Jadon High School Student, Peer Counselor, and Youth Mental Health and Education Advocate
• September 16th, 2026
• adolescent behavioral health, cannabis legalization, mental health risks, psychosis, public policy, teen cannabis use, THC regulation
• 284    2

The rapid expansion of cannabis legalization across the U.S. has raised growing concerns about its impact on adolescents. Cannabis remains the most commonly used recreational drug among U.S. youth (Young-Wolff et al., 2026), and while cannabis use is not legal at the federal level, medical use has...