In a significant shift in American substance use habits, daily marijuana use has outpaced daily alcohol consumption for the first time, according to a recent study. The study, published in the journal Addiction, reveals that an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or nearly every day in 2022, compared to 14.7 million who reported daily or near-daily drinking.
The study's author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that this shift has been 40 years in the making, as recreational marijuana use has become more mainstream and legal in nearly half of U.S. states. "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 study, based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a highly regarded source of self-reported estimates of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use in the United States, also revealed that the per capita rate of reporting daily or near-daily marijuana use increased 15-fold from 1992 to 2022. Caulkins acknowledged that people might be more willing to report marijuana use as public acceptance grows, which could contribute to the increase.
While most states now allow medical or recreational marijuana, it remains illegal at the federal level. However, the federal government is moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, and Florida voters will decide on a constitutional amendment allowing recreational cannabis in November.
Despite the increase in daily marijuana use, alcohol remains more widely used. However, the intensive level of marijuana use has, for the first time, overtaken daily and near-daily drinking in 2022.
The study also highlighted potential health risks associated with high-frequency marijuana use. Dr. David A. Gorelick, a psychiatry professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, warned that high-frequency users are more likely to become addicted to marijuana. "High frequency use also increases the risk of developing cannabis-associated psychosis," a severe condition where a person loses touch with reality, he said.
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