New Study Says Cool Teens Don't Like Weed Anymore

One inevitable side effect of the continued normalization (finally!) of weed in the United States is its eventual marking by the younger demographic as simply part of the framework of The Man. Such a marking is flattering, really; effectively hinting at the nearing end of that normalization process and ushering in a new era of not sending people to prison for really stupid reasons (see: nonviolent offenses).

According to a new study from the University of Texas at Austin, the early signs of that process are already quite visible among today's teens. Over the past 11 years, younger teens between the ages of 12 to 14 experienced a 25 percent decline in weed-related activities. Older teens experienced a similar decline, reducing their weed batting average from 26 percent to 22 percent.

Of course, a supposed decline in weed enjoyment among teenagers — though sure to be embarrassingly distorted across other headlines as some sort of moral reckoning — is actually indicative of a nation's impending shift from decades of a dangerous ideology which both criminalized marijuana and demonized its supporters. If those hip musicians with their complicated shoes teens think that weed is simply too normal now to retain its former cool, then a full-on victory for its tax and health benefits across the entire country seems like a beautiful foregone conclusion.