Elton John: Legalizing Marijuana ‘One of the Greatest Mistakes of All Time’ Noam Galai/Getty Images for TIME

Rock legend Elton John had some choice words regarding Western civilization’s newfound acceptance of marijuana, calling it “one of the greatest mistakes of all time.”

Speaking with Time! about his Icon Of The Year status, Elton John issued his off-color take on the legalization of marijuana, specifically on how it affected other musicians who he sponsored to kick drugs, including Eminem and Robbie Williams. He characterized marijuana as a natural gateway drug.

“It’s tough to tell someone that they’re being an a-hole, and it’s tough to hear,” he told the magazine. “Eventually I made the choice to admit that I’m being an a-hole.”

Speaking of marijuana, John stood by his position “that it’s addictive.”

“It leads to other drugs. And when you’re stoned—and I’ve been stoned—you don’t think normally,” he said. “Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time.”

When asked about alcohol, John’s husband, David Furnish, offered a nuanced answer about alcohol being a fabric of society and western culture for centuries while also noting its health defects.

As Breitbart News reported in 2022, a study shows that marijuana use has reached record levels for young adults and may soon become a practice among the majority. According to a Monitoring the Future study by scientists at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, marijuana and hallucinogen use steadily climbed among young adults between 19 and 30 compared to just ten years ago:

Past-year, past-month and daily marijuana use (use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days) reached the highest levels ever recorded since these trends were first monitored in 1988. Marijuana use in the past month was reported by 29% of young adults in 2021, compared to 21% five years ago (2016) and 17% 10 years ago (2011). Daily marijuana use also significantly increased during these time periods, reported by 11% of young adults in 2021, a significant increase from 8% in 2016 and 6% in 2011.

Past-year hallucinogen use had been relatively stable over the past few decades until 2020, when reports of use started to increase dramatically. In 2021, 8% of young adults reported past-year hallucinogen use, representing an all-time high since the category was first surveyed in 1988. By comparison, in 2016, 5% of young adults reported past-year hallucinogen use, and in 2011, only 3% reported use.

Alcohol still remains the popular substance of choice among young adults, while binge drinking and high-intensity drinking has seen an uptick since the pandemic.

The study came months after a U.K. study published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry showed people who use cannabis with a THC potency above five to ten milligrams per gram have a higher risk of addiction and mental health problems. Study co-author Tom Freeman, director of the addiction and mental health group at the U.K.’s University of Bath, told CNN in an email at the time that high-potency cannabis users have a “four-fold increased risk of addiction” over low potency cannabis users.

“A report by the United Nations found that in the past two decades, the proportion of people seeking treatment for cannabis addiction has risen in all world regions apart from Africa,” he said.

Roughly three in ten people in the United States have been diagnosed with marijuana addiction, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Likewise, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction found a 76 percent increase in treatment for marijuana addiction over the past decade.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

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