A new study found that cannabis use in the US has been increasing … but not among teenagers.
The research, which looked at data on more than 500,000 people’s cannabis habits during different time periods from 2013 to 2022 and was published in this month’s edition of Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, also revealed that cannabis use had increased among Americans in households earning more than $75,000 a year, as well as those with a college degree.
“We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and we really just estimated the prevalence of use,” said Delvon Mattingly, a behavioral science professor at the University of Kentucky and lead author of the study.
“We also examined trends in current cannabis use, which was defined as any use in the past 30 days,” as well as “prevalence patterns and trends in use by age, gender, race and ethnicity, educational attainment and total annual family income”.
Mattingly said he was surprised to learn that teen cannabis use had remained stagnant during this period – he had expected to see an increase.
Still, he said this data might not tell us everything. The study looked at all youth from 12 to 17 as one category, partly because more specific data could violate the confidentiality of minors.
“If we were able to disaggregate the data a little more and look at changes between like middle to high school youth, for example, we may see an increase,” said Mattingly. Recent CDC data found that cannabis use decreased among high schoolers, from 23% using it in 2013 to 17% in 2023.
It is possible that state-level legalization has curtailed teen cannabis use, because recreational dispensaries are strictly forbidden from selling to anyone under 21, and are often required to scan IDs to make sure they are authentic, unlike many bars and liquor stores.
Jordan Gette, a postdoctoral fellow at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, said there could be other factors at play.
“For example, the pandemic influenced substance use trends. We saw a sharp decline in cannabis use among teens during the pandemic, likely due to several factors such as less time with peers and increased time with parental supervision,” she explained.
Teenagers seem to be using fewer illicit substances in general.
“For example, alcohol use and vaping have both decreased among eighth–12th graders since 2020, so I don’t think this decrease in cannabis prevalence among teens is specifically due to cannabis legalization but is rather more reflective of a broader trend in post-pandemic substance use,” Gette added.
While teens might be abstaining more, the study’s numbers on income and educational attainment show that people with higher socio-economic status are now more likely to use cannabis. Use among people in higher-income households and those with college degrees more than doubled. Only about 4% of people with a college degree used cannabis in 2013, while nearly 13% did in 2022. Among people in households earning $75,000 or more, 6% used cannabis in 2013, while 13% did in 2022.
Gette says this is probably because legalization has also changed how people perceive cannabis.
“Now that cannabis is a legalized product in many states, we see celebrities and professional athletes endorse cannabis products,” she said. Dispensaries popping up in expensive neighborhoods and near college campuses might also attract people from high-income demographics.
Mattingly says that increased access to medical cannabis might also explain some change because “higher income is correlated with access to healthcare”.
“And in states that have legalized medical cannabis use,” he added, “you may see oftentimes that especially older adults may be using cannabis to combat pain.”
Another finding that stood out to Mattingly was that cannabis use was highest among non-Hispanic multiracial people compared towith other races and ethnicities. Over 25% of people in this category, which is rarely highlighted in scientific research, used cannabis in 2022.
“I believe that the population density of multiracial folk in the US is increasing, so naturally, as we conduct more observational research, over time, we’re going to see more representation of a multiracial group,” he said, “These folks need to be included more in research. In the past, you don’t see it as often.”
