The following piece by SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert was posted on the popular FireDogLake blog. An excerpt is below, and you can read the entire story by clicking HERE.

Teen Marijuana Use Up, Alcohol Use Down – A Good Thing?

According to the annual Monitoring the Future survey released today by the National Institutes of Health, marijuana use is up and alcohol use is down amongst America’s teens.

Although U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske has taken to the airwaves to tell us “we should be very concerned about these marijuana numbers,” those numbers might actually be indicative of progress.

Of course there are few (if any) people who think teenagers should be using marijuana or alcohol, and it would be wonderful if all teens chose to remain “drug free.”  But if they are going to use an intoxicating substance — and we all know many of them will — the fact is that they pose far less harm to themselves and to others if they choose to use marijuana instead of alcohol...