In California, for example, marijuana use among ninth-graders has fallen 47 percent since 1996, when the state passed its medical-marijuana law. Critics of medical marijuana have contended that such laws could spark an increase in youth use of the drug. Study authors Mitch Earlywine of the State University of New York and Karen O'Keefe of MPP say the findings suggest that those fears have not been realized.

Marijuana use in California, Washington, and Colorado -- all of which have medical-marijuana laws on the books -- has declined at a slightly higher rate than the national average. Maine, Oregon and Nevada, which also have medical-marijuana laws, have use rates that are higher than the national norms.

A spokesperson for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said that the government's national media campaign against marijuana was responsible for the teen-use trends, and said that medical-marijuana laws blunted those messages.

"It's foolish to give kids a message that marijuana can be helpful to them," said ONDCP spokesperson Tom Riley.

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