Recent Decade Saw Drop in Marijuana Use in U.S. Adolescents

THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- There were significant declines in self-reported marijuana use among U.S. adolescents in 2021 compared with 2011, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in Pediatric Reports.

Jack Yang, from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues explored trends in self-reported marijuana use among U.S. adolescents overall as well as by gender, race/ethnicity, and school grade. The analysis included biennial data from 88,183 adolescent participants in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (grades 9 through 12 in 2011 to 2021).

The researchers found that the percentage of adolescents who reported current marijuana use dropped significantly from 23.1 percent in 2011 to 15.8 percent in 2021. There were also significant decreases in self-reports of trying marijuana for the first time before age 13 years (8.1 percent in 2011 to 4.9 percent in 2021). Similar significant decreases were seen for current use by race/ethnicity, with Asian, Hispanic, and White adolescents experiencing the steepest declines. The percentage of Black adolescents self-reporting marijuana use was significantly higher (20.5 percent) in 2021 compared with White (14.8 percent), Hispanic (16.7 percent), and Asian (5.1 percent) adolescents. While there were significant declines in current marijuana use for both girls and boys over time, in 2021, girls were more likely (17.8 percent) to currently use marijuana than boys (13.6 percent), but the opposite was true in 2011 (25.9 percent for boys versus 20.1 percent for girls).

"Marijuana legalization can influence adolescent behavior through reduced risk perception and increased availability, which may counteract efforts to reduce use in this vulnerable population," the authors write.

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