A new study shows marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults 19 to 30 years old has increased significantly to the highest levels since the late '80s.
The new Monitoring the Future study from the National Institute of Drug Abuse states that in 2021, 43% of respondents said they used marijuana in the past year. That's up from 34% five years ago and 29% a decade ago.
Daily marijuana use also increased, reported by 11% of young adults in 2021, compared to 8% in 2016 and 6% in 2011. Recreational marijuana use is now legal for adults in 19 states and Washington, D.C.
Advocates claim marijuana is as safe if not safer than alcohol, which is believed to contribute to tens of thousands of deaths every year. But researchers say they have seen some negative effects.
"It is particularly concerning for teenagers and young adults who have developing brains that are particularly susceptible to the negative effects. Pretty much everybody who ends up having a problem with substance use started as a teenager and continued use as a young adult," Dr. Maria Rahmandar.
The Monitoring the Future study states that rates of past-month nicotine vaping continued their gradual upward trend in 2021, despite leveling off in 2020. Meanwhile, while past-month marijuana vaping had significantly decreased in 2020, it rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.
Alcohol remained the most used substance among young adults in the study, though it was noted that past-year, past-month and daily drinking have been decreasing over the past decade.
The study states that past-year hallucinogen use had been relatively stable over the past few decades until 2020, when reports of use started to increase dramatically. In 2021, 8% of young adults reported past-year hallucinogen use, an all-time high since the category was first surveyed in 1988.
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