Daily marijuana use among young people in the U.S. is at the highest rate in 30 years, according to new data. The rate at which college and non-college age adults use marijuana — 7.8 percent — is the highest it has been since the early 1980s, according to the latest Monitoring the Future national survey results, released Sept. 8 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The survey revealed that young people not enrolled in college have higher rates of frequent marijuana use compared with young college students of the same age. Nearly 13 percent of non- college youth participate in daily marijuana use, compared with 4.9 percent of full-time college students.
Frequent recreational marijuana use is shown to decrease cognitive and physical capability for 19- to 22-year-olds. Misinformation about drugs in popular culture contributes to the rise of illicit drug use and risky behavior among young people, according to NIDA. A decline in recognition of the risks of marijuana may also play a role: Only 30 percent of 19- to 22- year-olds saw regular use of marijuana as having a great risk of harm in 2016, which is the lowest rate since 1980.
School personnel can play a role in reducing marijuana use by college students, according to researchers.
“We know from our research and that of others that heavy marijuana use is associated with poor academic performance and noncompletion of college,” said John Schulenberg, PhD, the current principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future follow-up study, in a University of Michigan news release. “Colleges are not simply inheriting this problem from high schools. Marijuana use has remained steady in recent years among the nation’s high school seniors, so this increase among college students suggests it has something to do with college and young adulthood experiences.”
In addition to the marijuana findings, binge drinking remains high among both groups. However, non-college youths binge drink less — 28.7 percent compared with 32.4 percent — than their college counterparts. They also use less Ritalin, at 1.6 percent compared with 2.4 percent, and Adderall at 6.2 percent compared with 9.9 percent, than college students. Cigarette and e- vaporizer use has decreased among both groups.
NIDA called the findings “significant,” as they highlight the potential health and cognitive effects of substance use in the age group.
To address concerns around young adults’ drug and alcohol use, NIDA offers a toolkit to reach college-age young adults. It includes infographics and evidence-based information on drug use to increase awareness of the dangers associated with drugs and alcohol.
