Christian Tompkins of Old Lyme states in his Jan. 8 letter, “Powell presents senseless pot legalization opposition” that my recent column about legalizing marijuana was wrong to assert that legalization in Colorado has caused a huge increase in the number of students coming to school stoned.

Tompkins writes: “Even the most cursory Google search will produce multiple studies showing that teen marijuana use has actually declined slightly since legalization started in Colorado.”

While my column referred to increased marijuana use by students in Colorado, it’s not clear whether Tompkins is referring just to students in that state or nationally. But he’s wrong to claim that I’m wrong.

For the September 2016 study, “The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado — The Impact,” produced by the Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area organization, the definitive study of the Colorado experiment, concluded that while use of marijuana by young people declined by 4 percent nationally since Colorado legalized two years ago, use by young people in Colorado itself increased by 20 percent.

The study compiled extensive commentary from Colorado teachers and school officials about the explosion of marijuana use by students there following legalization.

Analysis of the Colorado experiment by David W. Murray, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, elaborates ths point further.

Chris Powell

Managing editor of The Journal Inquirer

Manchester