According to a new study, the usage of marijuana and psychedelics among young Americans reached record highs last year. In 2021, 43% of the 5,000 young individuals aged 19 to 30 who participated in the survey reported having used marijuana in the previous year, up from 34% in 2016 and 29% in 2011, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study.
In 2021, 29% of respondents said they had used marijuana in the previous month, compared to 21% in 2016 and 17% in 2011.
The percentage of people who use marijuana daily increased from 6% in 2011 to 8% in 2016 to 11% in 2021.
The National Institutes of Health-funded study’s authors stated that the 2021 marijuana consumption statistics represented the “highest levels ever documented since these trends were started studied in 1988.”
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In terms of hallucinogen use, 8% of young adults reported that they had used LSD, MDMA, mescaline, peyote, “shrooms,” or PCP during the previous year, up from 5% in 2016 and 3% in 2011.
A little less than 82% of those polled said they had consumed alcohol in the preceding year, compared to 83.5% in 2016 and 83.8% in 2011.
Although recreational cannabis is now legal in nearly 20 US states, the study did not provide any explanations for the growth in marijuana usage among young adults.
(With inputs from agencies)
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