Cannabis use falls among US teenagers but rises among everyone else
A new study by Dr. Delvon Mattingly, Dr. Maggie Richardson and Dr. Joy Hart has found that cannabis use in the United States has been increasing for many demographics except for teenagers. The Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies’, Dr. Jordan Gette, along with Mattingly commented on possible reasons for this trend in a “The Guardian” interview.
Mattingly attributed this trend to state-level legalization while Gette thought there could be other factors at play such as the pandemic. The pandemic may have caused a sharp decline in cannabis use in teens due to factors such as less time with peers and increased parental supervision. Gette thought that the decrease in cannabis use in teens may be more reflective of a broader trend in post-pandemic substance use.
While teens have been using cannabis less, it appears that people with higher socio-economic status are now more likely to use cannabis due to its legalization or a shift in how cannabis use is perceived.
The full article is linked here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/sep/07/cannabis-use-survey-teenagers