(Image source: Sacratomatoville Post)

You’re watching multisource global video news analysis from Newsy.
 

BY MARC STEIDLER

More teens are picking ganja over vodka-- that’s according to a study out of the University of Michigan. But while the director of the study says the news is good for alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is a different story.

“The other finding we have has to do with marijuana -- that’s less good news, because we’re seeing a gradual increase over the last four years. The proportion of young people using marijuana, that continued in 2011. We’re also seeing the number who are using on a daily or a near-daily basis increasing.”

The survey suggests one in fifteen high school students use pot on a daily basis. New England’s News 12 explains why.

“The report by the group ‘Monitoring the Future’ says the availability of medical marijuana seems to be boosting pot use.”

But a writer for Reason Magazine says regardless of the availability of medical marijuana, kids are going to find weed, no matter what.
 

“While we should not ignore the likelihood of leakage from a legal marijuana market ... concerns about underage access hardly count in favor of maintaining a black market where such distinctions are ignored, the government should not treat all of us like children simply because some of us are.”

The study also finds synthetic marijuana is the second most frequently used illegal drug among high school seniors, which is why the Director of National Drug Control Policy tells MSNBC -- fake weed is the real problem.

“So I think the effect on the system, whether it’s salvia or synthetic marijuana, can be very serious because we know people are going to emergency rooms and calling poison control centers as a result.”

Synthetic marijuana was legal until March 2011, when the DEA banned the substance for one year. Congress is now considering a permanent ban.

Transcript by Newsy.