Adolescent Cannabis Use Declining, Results from NIH-Funded Study Show

In a December 17, 2024, news release, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explained results from the most recent Monitoring the Future survey on adolescent substance use over specific periods of time (1). The survey's list of substances included alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, narcotics, energy drinks, and more, and tracked usage based on timeframes including past 30 days, 12 months, lifetime, or daily. Students in 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grades are given the survey annually, and the data is self-reported. Over several months in 2024, 24,257 surveys were collected from 272 schools in the nation. The survey was conducted by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the data was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to the news release, the most common substances reported were alcohol, nicotine vaping, and cannabis. Overall, substance use has been declining steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly between 2020 and 2021, the news release stated. “This trend in the reduction of substance use among teenagers is unprecedented,” said Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of NIDA, in the news release. “We must continue to investigate factors that have contributed to this lowered risk of substance use to tailor interventions to support the continuation of this trend.”

According to the data tables in the Monitoring the Future survey, for 2024, reported use of marijuana (cannabis) included (2):

Daily Use

• 12^th Grade: 5.1%
• 10^th Grade: 2.7%
• 8^th Grade: 0.7%

Past 30 Day Use

• 12^th Grade: 16.2%
• 10^th Grade: 9.5%
• 8^th Grade: 4.3%

12 Month Use

• 12^th Grade: 25.8%
• 10^th Grade: 15.9%
• 8^th Grade: 7.2%

Lifetime

• 12^th Grade: 34.4%
• 10^th Grade: 21.2%
• 8^th Grade: 10.6%

Notably, delta-8-THC use was recorded for the first time for 8^th and 10^th graders, with 2.9% and 7.9% reported use, respectively, in the past 12 months. For 12^th graders, 12.3% reported use in the same timeframe. There was also data reported on “Ever Use Daily for a Month or More” for 12^th graders only, which was 13.4%.

The pandemic is speculated to have had a significant impact on behavior. “Kids who were in eighth grade at the start of the pandemic will be graduating from high school this year, and this unique cohort has ushered in the lowest rates of substance use we’ve seen in decades,” stated Richard A. Miech, PhD, team lead of the Monitoring the Future survey at the University of Michigan, in the news release. “Even as the drugs, culture, and landscape continue to evolve in future years, the Monitoring the Future survey will continue to nimbly adapt to measure and report on these trends – just as it has done for the past 50 years.”

The survey also asked about respondents’ ethnicity and gender, plus perceptions on substance disapproval of use, harm, and availability.

Last month, Gallup published combined data on adult Americans’ self-reported cannabis usage and opinions from anonymous surveys (3). Since 2013, adult cannabis use – by smoking – has increased from 7% to 15% in 2023-2024. The percentage of adults reporting general cannabis use has also increased from 4% in 1969, to 47% in 2023-2024, with a peak of 49% in 2021.

References

1. Reported Use of Most Drugs among Adolescents Remained Low in 2024. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2024/12/reported-use-of-most-drugs-among-adolescents-remained-low-in-2024 December 17, 2024. (accessed Dec 24, 2024).
2. Monitoring the Future. Prevalence/Trends. https://monitoringthefuture.org/data/bx-by/drug-prevalence/#drug=%22Marijuana+%28Cannabis%29%22 2024. (accessed Dec 24, 2024).
3. McEvoy, E. Cannabis Use and Legalization Support: New Data from Gallup Surveys, https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/cannabis-use-and-legalization-support-new-data-from-gallup-surveys (accessed Dec 24, 2024).