By Shawna Seldon McGregor
Policy experts and global researchers break down the data, the myths and the next steps for a country on the edge of reform.
In October, Reykjavík hosted the Hemp4Future conference, bringing together international researchers, clinicians, policy specialists and industry leaders to examine how cannabis and hemp could support Iceland’s long-term goals in public health, environmental sustainability and wellness-based policy. Across two days of panels and workshops, speakers delivered a consistent message: Iceland is uniquely positioned to benefit from regulated cannabis access, but only if policymakers move beyond stigma and toward evidence-driven reform.
Photos Courtesy of Fat Nugs Magazine
Youth Use Declines in Regulated Markets
Several speakers addressed the fear that legalization increases youth consumption. In Germany, a 2025 paper from the Federal Institute of Public Health (BIÖG), reviewing representative survey data collected prior to the country’s April 2024 reform, found only minor changes in adolescent cannabis use overall from 2008 to 2023, while use among male adolescents declined between 2019 and 2023. The authors noted that the effects of partial legalization on youth use will require continued evaluation.
Similar patterns have been observed in the United States. The University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future 2025 report shows substantial long-term declines in past-30-day marijuana use since 2012 across 8th, 10th and 12th graders. Meanwhile, data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that current cannabis use among students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in King County, Washington declined between 2008 and 2021.
State-level data points in the same direction. The 2023 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey reported that 13% of high school students used marijuana in the past month, showing no increase from prior years despite a mature legal market.
Jamie L Pearson, CEO, New Holland Group International Cannabis Consulting. Photo courtesy of Fat Nugs Magazine
“Youth use falls when cannabis is regulated,” …
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Author: High Times Contributors / High Times
