We know, at least according to the latest study, that American teens' weed smoking has been on the rise.

And given the increasing legality of marijuana in places like L.A., the pot shop capital of the nation, you have to wonder if there is at least some cause and effect here.

One recent study suggests a link between medical marijuana dispensaries and teen cannabis smoking:

The annual Arizona Youth Survey found that nearly 1 in 9 high schoolers got their weed from someone with a “card” in that medical-legal state.

To be exact, it says 11.6 of all pot-smoking students it surveyed indicated that marijuana was obtained this way. That percentage was higher, at 14.9 percent, for high school seniors.

The biggest source of weed for all high school pot users was “friends.”

The Arizona Republic notes that, as is pretty much the case in California, …

… It is illegal for anyone who is not a participant in the state's medical marijuana program to obtain and use the drug. It is also illegal for medical marijuana cardholders to share their pot with those who are not in the program.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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