Daily Marijuana Use Outpacing Daily Drinking In The US
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The great philosopher Nate Dogg once said, “Hey hey hey hey…smoke weed everyday.” Well, it appears that more people are doing just that.
(Well… except for North Carolina because it’s still illegal here.)
As reported by WRAL, a new study has determined that millions of U.S. citizens are reporting that they use marijuana daily or nearly every day, outnumbering those who say they are daily or almost-daily drinkers of alcohol.
The study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, says that 2022 marked the first time that regular marijuana users overtook regular drinkers.
“A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use,” Caulkins said.
The research, published in the “Addiction” journal on Wednesday, is based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which takes estimates of alcohol, tobacco and drug use in the U.S.
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In 2022, the study says that an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily, in comparison to 14.7 daily drinkers.
Caulkins acknowledged in the study that because public acceptance of marijuana has grown, people may be more willing to report marijuana use. This could factor in the increase of reported users in the study.
As of February 2024, the Pew Research Center reported that 24 states and the District of Columbia legalized medical and recreational use of marijuana. Another 14 states allow for medicinal use only, and the remaining 12 states (including North Carolina) only allow for CBD and low-THC products.
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