Giving Compass' Take:

• Rosalie Liccardo Pacula explains that marijuana legalization in Washington reduced adolescent marijuana use, but more data is needed to paint a fuller picture. 

• How can funders work to increase data around adolescent cannabis use? 

• Learn how to find and fund scientific research. 

Marijuana use among teenagers in Washington state appears to have declined in the years immediately following the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2012, contradicting earlier estimates about the trend, according to a new study.

Researchers from the RAND Corporation and other organizations found that marijuana use dropped a small, but statistically significant amount among eighth graders and 10th graders in Washington following legalization, while no change was observed among 12th graders.

The findings, published as a researcher letter by the journal JAMA Pediatrics, highlight the need for researchers to use representative surveys when trying to determine the influence that legalization has on youth marijuana use.

Read the full article about adolescent marijuana use in Washington by Rosalie Liccardo Pacula at RAND Corporation.