Study Links Music and Marijuana Use

According to a new study, listening to music that mentions marijuana may make teens significantly more likely to use the drug. The study included survey data collected from 959 9th graders.

Among respondents, 12 percent identified themselves as current marijuana users, and 32 percent reported having tried marijuana. Respondents were also asked to list songs that they listened to and researchers analyzed the content of these songs. The average respondent listened to 21.8 hours of music per week and heard about 40 references to marijuana in music each day.

Dr. Brian Primack, lead author, commented on the findings: "Students who listen to music with the most references to marijuana are almost twice as likely to have used the drug as their peers whose musical tastes favor songs less focused on substance use. Interestingly, we also found that exposure to marijuana in music was not associated with other high-risk behaviors, such as excessive alcohol consumption.

"This suggests that there is a real link between the marijuana lyrics and marijuana use. Although it may be that heavy exposure to music about marijuana causes marijuana smoking, it may also be that those who smoke marijuana seek out music with lyrics related to marijuana."

(Source:www.msnbc.com )

Labels: marijuana

posted by Aspen Education Group @ 8:51 AM