Prevalence of and trends in current cannabis use among US youth and adults, 2013–2022
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Repeated cross-sectional survey analysis (CEBM level 4 by design analogy).
OpenAlex W4400162356 · doi:10.1016/j.dadr.2024.100253
What was done
Researchers analyzed data from the 2013–2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; n = 543,195) to estimate the prevalence of and trends in current (past-30-day) cannabis use among US youth (aged 12–17) and adults (aged 18+). Trends were evaluated across distinct survey periods (2013–2019, 2020, and 2021–2022) overall and stratified by age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and total annual family income. Sociodemographic factors associated with use were also assessed.
What was found
Overall current cannabis use increased from 7.59% in 2013 to 11.48% in 2019, was 11.54% in 2020, and increased further from 13.13% in 2021 to 15.11% in 2022. Youth cannabis use remained constant across 2013–2019 and 2021–2022. In 2022, prevalence was highest among adults aged 18–34, males, non-Hispanic multiracial individuals, and lower socioeconomic status groups. From 2021 to 2022, cannabis use increased among adults aged 35–49 (14.25% to 17.23%), females (11.21% to 13.00%), and Hispanic adults (10.42% to 13.50%). Consistently higher odds of current cannabis use across all time periods were observed for adults aged 18–25, males, non-Hispanic multiracial individuals, those with some college education, and those with lower annual family income.
Why it matters
These findings demonstrate that rising US cannabis consumption over the past decade has been driven entirely by adult populations, with recent growth concentrated among middle-aged, female, and Hispanic adults, while adolescent prevalence remained stable.
Limits
The study relies on self-reported survey data, which is subject to recall and social desirability biases. NSDUH methodological shifts necessitated segmenting the analysis into distinct intervals (2013–2019, 2020, and 2021–2022) rather than evaluating a single continuous time series. The abstract does not provide data on mode of administration, frequency of daily use, or potency.
Cited by
- supports Following cannabis legalization, cannabis use among youth has changed only slightly, with the main growth in use occurring among adults.