HEALTH
U.S. marijuana use outpaces alcohol
May 23, 2024 - Daily and near-daily marijuana use is now more common than similar levels of drinking alcohol in the U.S., according to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Related Graphics
View More
Problematic sick leave on the rise across Europe
British MPs vote in favour of allowing assisted dying
Air pollution in Delhi soars to extremely severe levels
How lights on surfboards could deter sharks from attacking
Lahore pollution 120 times higher than safe levels
U.S. McDonald’s burger kills one, makes dozens sick
Humans may be reaching the zenith of life expectancy
What is the new Covid XEC variant?
WHO declares Mpox global health emergency
Tiger mosquito spreading dengue fever in Europe
Prostate cancer cases to double in 20 years
Efforts continue to deliver aid routes into Gaza
Mass death imminent in famine-struck Gaza
Spiralling sexually transmitted infections in Europe
More than a billion people obese worldwide
Medical studies highlight long Covid risks to heart
Tuberculosis fight recovering from Covid but still off target
Twin births have almost doubled since 1970
Wegovy weight-loss frenzy
Covid-19 New Eris variant of concern
Syphilis surge in U.S. as drugs run low
Child routine immunisation hesitancy on the rise
China Covid deaths could be far higher than official data
China’s Covid deaths expected to hit 36,000 a day
Countries placing Covid rules on travellers from China
The spiralling cost of the U.S. opioid addiction crisis
Japan tries to boost alcohol consumption
Moderna two-strain booster vaccine
Monkeypox cases confirmed in more than 80 countries
Ghana declares outbreak of deadly Marburg virus
The study published Wednesday in the journal Society for the Study of Addiction notes that since 1992, the per capita rate of daily cannabis consumption in the country has increased nearly twentyfold.
“A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use,” said the study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.
By 2022, an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily compared to 14.7 million daily or near-daily drinkers, according to the study.
Caulkins acknowledged in the study that people may be more willing to report marijuana use as public acceptance grows, which could boost the increase.
The survey has been conducted annually since 1990 and four times before in 1979, 1982, 1985 and 1988.
Research shows that high-frequency users are more likely to become addicted to marijuana, said Dr. David Gorelick, a psychiatry professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
“High frequency use also increases the risk of developing cannabis-associated psychosis,” a severe condition where a person loses touch with reality, Gorelick said.