Figures show that there are more daily marijuana users in the US than alcohol users

Daily and near-daily marijuana use is now higher than alcohol use in the United States, according to an analysis of data from national studies spanning four decades.

Alcohol is still consumed by more people, but 2022 was the first time that heavy marijuana use surpassed highly frequent alcohol use, notes Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University and author of the study.

“A good 40% of current cannabis users use it daily or almost daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use,” Caulkins said.

The study, based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, was published Wednesday in the journal Addiction. The survey is a highly regarded source of estimates on tobacco, alcohol and drug use in the United States.

In 2022, an estimated 17.7 million people used marijuana daily or almost daily, compared to 14.7 million people who used alcohol daily or almost daily, according to the study. From 1992 to 2022, the per capita rate of daily or near-daily marijuana use reported by consumers increased 15-fold.

The trend reflects changes in public policies. Medical or recreational use of marijuana is now permitted in most states, although it remains illegal at the federal level. In November, Florida voters will decide on a constitutional amendment allowing recreational use of cannabis, and the federal government is moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Research shows that high-frequency users are more likely to become addicted to marijuana, said Dr. David A. Gorelick, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

The number of daily users indicates that more people are at risk of developing problematic cannabis use or becoming addicted to it, Gorelick said.

“High-frequency use also increases the risk of developing cannabis-related psychosis,” a serious condition in which a person loses touch with reality, he said.

In figures

The research compares Americans’ cannabis and alcohol consumption over the past 40 years. These are some of the conclusions and other notable figures:

– Nails 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or almost daily in 2022, up from less than 1 million in 1992.

— It is estimated that 14.7 million people consumed alcoholdaily or almost daily in 2022, compared to 9 million in 1992.

— 42% of people who claim to have used marijuana in the last month say they do so daily or almost daily.

— 11% of alcohol consumers drink daily or almost daily.

— According to the survey, 62 million Americans, approximately 20% of the American population over 12 years of age, declared having used marijuana at least once in the last year.

— About 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have a cannabis use disorder, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

— 177 million Americans reported drinking alcohol in the past year.

— 29.5 million Americans had an alcohol use disorder in 2022.

– He recreational use of marijuana It is legal in 24 states in the United States.

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