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Argument: Decriminalizing Marijuana possession will increase use
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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has claimed that marijuana decriminalization will lead to increased marijuana use and addiction in the un-sourced pamphlet entitled "Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization".[44] The pamphlet states in 1979, after 11 states decriminalized private marijuana use, marijuana use among 12th grade students was almost 51 percent and in 1992, when stricter marijuana laws were put in place, the usage rate reduced to 22 percent. The pamphlet also states that when Alaska decriminalized marijuana, the marijuana use rate among youth rose twice as much as the youth usage rates nationwide; even though the law did not apply to anyone under the age of 19, the pamphlet explains this is why Alaska re-criminalized marijuana in 1990. Save Our Society From Drugs (SOS) has also stated that decriminalizing marijuana will increase usage among teenagers, citing an increase in Alaskan youth marijuana usage when marijuana was decriminalized.[45]
