What The Data Says About Cannabis and Youth
In the latest Trade To Black podcast, presented by Flowhub, Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell are joined by Kyle Sherman, CEO of Flowhub, to break down what’s happening across policy, technology, and enforcement. Politicians continue to argue that cannabis legalization leads to more access for youths, but the data doesn’t support that. The hosts also previewed a new weekly Wednesday segment launching the following week focused on the Medicare CBD pilot program, with plans to feature government officials, doctors, and insurance representatives to educate the audience as the initiative develops.
Flowhub CEO Kyle Sherman joined for a discussion of a federally funded study exploring a 3D-printed roadside cannabis breathalyzer. The hosts and Sherman agreed that while reliable roadside impairment testing remains one of the industry’s most significant unresolved challenges, the science is far from prime time — noting that even the alcohol breathalyzer took decades to move from invention to legal admissibility, and that cannabis presents a fundamentally more complex testing problem given how THC metabolizes in the body.
In Idaho, lawmakers approved a resolution urging voters to reject a medical cannabis ballot measure. Sherman and the hosts expressed frustration but little surprise, drawing parallels to alcohol prohibition holdouts and noting that economic data — including North Carolina’s estimate of $3 billion in foregone tax revenue — tends to eventually move even the most resistant legislatures.
Sherman addressed the recurring political argument that legalization increases youth cannabis access, presenting data showing that between 2012 and 2025 cannabis use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders declined significantly across all measured categories. He attributed the persistent misconception largely to lawmakers conflating regulated dispensaries with unregulated hemp smoke shops, arguing that bad actors in the hemp space — selling products as potent as 2,000 milligram gummies with no age verification — were actively damaging the regulated cannabis industry’s reputation.
Bottom line — there’s a clear gap between the narrative and the reality on the ground.
