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By Peyton Majors
Christian Action League
May 31, 2024
For the first time in the U.S., daily marijuana use has surpassed regular alcohol use.
The new data comes from a major study in the journal Addiction that examined usage of marijuana and alcohol over a 43-year span beginning in 1979 and found there were 17.7 million daily or near daily marijuana users in the last year of the study (2022) compared to 14.7 million daily/near daily alcohol users.
The growth in marijuana usage during those four decades is staggering. For example, in 1992, there were 10 times as many daily/near daily alcohol users (8.9 million) as there were marijuana users (900,000). Today, though, marijuana edges out alcohol.
The findings seemed to surprise even the researchers.
“It is striking that high-frequency cannabis use is now more commonly reported than is high-frequency drinking,” the study said.
The increase in daily/near daily marijuana consumption coincides with the liberalization of cannabis laws within cities and states. As of May of this year, 24 states, three U.S. territories, and the federal capital of Washington, D.C. had legalized recreational marijuana use. A total of 38 states permit marijuana for medical purposes.
The study found that in 2022, the median drinker reported “drinking on 4–5 days in the past month, versus 15–16 days in the past month for cannabis.” Further, “past-month cannabis consumers were almost four times as likely to report daily or near daily use (42.3% vs. 10.9%) and 7.4 times more likely to report daily use (28.2% vs. 3.8%).”
A study of the past 43 years demonstrated that “long-term trends in cannabis use in the United States” parallel “corresponding changes in cannabis policy,” with “declines during periods of greater restriction and growth during periods of policy liberalization.”
Study author Jonathan Caulkins told The Washington Post that many users are consuming marijuana in edibles and vapes.
“Cannabis legalization has expanded the variety of products,” he said.
In the past, he told The Post, individuals would smoke pot occasionally on weekends. Now, though, they are using it regularly and treating it like cigarette smoking.
“A lot of people are spending a substantial portion of their waking hours under the influence,” Caulkins said.
The study’s authors noted that in 2022, people 35 and older accounted for slightly more days of use than did those under the age of 35.
“It is also no longer a young person’s drug,” the study said.
Today’s weed is stronger and more potent than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, experts say. That means it also is more dangerous.
A bill that would have legalized medicinal marijuana in North Carolina passed the state Senate last year but failed to gain a vote in the House. Opponents of the bill argued it would have been a stepping stone to recreational legalization statewide. The issue likely will come up again this year.
A 2022 study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that marijuana can negatively impact drivers for nearly five hours post-use. Even worse: Many drivers falsely believe the effect has worn off when, in fact, it has not, the 2022 study found.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said the new study should impact the debate over marijuana in North Carolina.
“As a lobbyist actively working to defeat the medical marijuana proposal in North Carolina, I find the recent data revealing a significant rise in daily marijuana use deeply troubling,” Creech said. “This shift in substance use patterns, where daily marijuana use has now surpassed daily alcohol consumption, underscores the potential public health risks associated with normalizing marijuana use, even for medical purposes.”
Less is known about long-term use of marijuana than is known about alcohol, he noted.
“Unlike alcohol, which has well-documented health risks, marijuana’s long-term impact on mental health, cognitive function, and overall well-being remains less understood but no less concerning,” he said. “Moreover, the normalization and increased accessibility of marijuana, even for medical purposes, could contribute to higher rates of addiction and dependency. As we have seen with other substances, daily use can quickly lead to abuse, posing significant risks.”
The data, he said, should serve “as a wake-up call to policymakers and public health officials.”
“It is crucial to consider the broader implications of expanding access to marijuana, including the potential for increased substance abuse and the associated social and economic costs,” Creech said.
“The experiences with tobacco and alcohol have shown us that once a substance becomes widely accepted and regularly used, it can be incredibly challenging to mitigate its negative impacts. It should be deeply concerning that adding marijuana to alcohol and tobacco will undoubtedly create a trinity of unprecedented harms.”