Topline
A larger share of young people ages 18 to 30 reported using marijuana and hallucinogens like LSD and ecstacy last year than ever before, according to a study published Monday by the National Institutes of Health, as rates of vaping and heavy drinking also increased.
Marijuana enthusiasts share a blunt on 4/20 on World Weed Day in Washington Square Park on April 20, … [+]
Key Facts
According to the survey, 43% of young adults said they used marijuana within the past year, a significant surge from 34% who said the same thing five years ago in 2016 and the highest share ever recorded since the NIH began tracking the numbers in 1988.
Monthly marijuana use reached 29% in 2021, up eight percentage points from the 21% recorded in 2016 and more than one in 10 young adults (11%) said they used marijuana daily, nearly doubling from a decade ago, the NIH said.
Young adults also reported record levels of hallucinogen use, with 8% saying they’d used it within the past year, more than double the 35% rate in 2011.Respondents said they used LSD, mescaline, peyote, mushrooms, PCP and ecstasy (although the NIH noted the latter drug’s use had dropped by two percentage points since 2016, which it said constituted a statistically significant amount).
Young adults also took part in high-intensity drinking–which the NIH defines as having 10 or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks–at the highest rate since the activity was first measured in 2005, reported by 13% of young adults in 2021 compared to 11% in 2005.
Rates of vaping nicotine and binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks in one sitting) increased last year after leveling off and dropping, respectively, in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic, the NIH said.
Key Background
The Monitoring the Future study has surveyed nationally representative panels of teens about drug use since 1975. A portion of those respondents are contacted for follow-up surveys to track how their attitudes towards drug use changes throughout their life. This survey was given online to 4,909 respondents ages 18 to 30 from April 2021 through October 2021. Marijuana use rates have increased through the decades as more states pass legislation to legalize or decriminalize the drug. Recreational marijuana use is legal in 19 states (along with Washington, D.C. and Guam) and dozens more have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses or passed medical marijuana laws. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. Increasing numbers of Americans say they support legalizing the drug across the board.
Further Reading
68% Of Adults — A Record High — Support Legalizing Marijuana (Forbes)
Where Is Marijuana Legal? A Guide to Marijuana Legalization (U.S. News)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/08/22/a-record-high-more-young-adults-used-marijuana-and-hallucinogens-last-year-than-ever-before-nih-study-finds/