Marijuana Use
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Headline

Marijuana use has declined in recent years, but is still above the low rates of the early 1990s. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Marijuana is used for the intoxication or high that it gives most users.¹ For most youth, marijuana is not difficult to obtain.² Many think marijuana is not as harmful as other illicit drugs; however, it has both short- and long-term health effects. The short-term effects include memory problems, loss of coordination, anxiety attacks, and increased heart rate.³ Possible long-term effects include respiratory problems, a weakened immune system, and cognitive deficits.⁴ While causation is complex, teens who use marijuana are also more likely to have lower achievement, more delinquent behavior and aggression, and weaker relationships with parents than non-users.⁵

Trends

Marijuana use among twelfth grade students has fluctuated substantially over the last several decades. In 1980, 34 percent had used marijuana in the month preceding the survey. By 1992, that proportion had decreased dramatically to 12 percent. The percentage then doubled to 24 percent in 1997, and was at 19 percent in 2006. (See Figure 1)

The percentage of tenth graders who had used marijuana in the month preceding the survey increased during the early 1990s, leveled off towards the end of the decade, and then decreased between 2001 and 2006 from 20 percent to 14 percent.(See Figure 1)

Marijuana use among eighth grade students followed a similar pattern, increasing during the early 1990s, leveling off towards the end of the decade, and then decreasing between 2001 and 2006 from 9 percent to 7 percent. (See Figure 1)

More than twice as many students report having used marijuana at some point in their lives than report use in the last month. In 2006, 16 percent of eighth graders, 32 percent of tenth graders, and 42 percent of twelfth graders reported having used marijuana at least once in their lifetime. ⁶

Differences by Parental Education

In 2006, eighth grade students whose parents did not complete high school were three times as likely as students whose parents completed college to have used marijuana in the past month (12 percent versus 4 percent, respectively). Among tenth graders, 18 percent of students whose parents had not completed high school had used marijuana in the past month compared with 12 percent of students whose parents had completed college or graduate school. Among twelfth graders, there were no significant differences in marijuana use by parental education level. (See Table 1)

Differences by College Plans

Students who plan to complete four years of college are less likely than those who do not have such plans to have used marijuana in the past month. For example, in 2006, eighth graders who planned to complete four years of college were almost four times less likely than other eighth graders to have used marijuana in the past month. Differences by college plans are more modest but still evident at older ages.(See Figure 2)

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Differences by Gender

Male students in tenth and twelfth grade are more likely than females to have used marijuana in the past month. In 2006, for example, 16 percent of tenth grade males, and 20 percent of twelfth grade males had used marijuana in the past month, as compared to 13 percent and 17 percent of females, respectively. There was no significant gender difference in marijuana use in eighth grade. (See Table 1)

Differences by Race

In 2006, white students in twelfth grade were more likely than black students to report having used marijuana in the last 30 days, (20 percent versus 17 percent, respectively). In contrast, white students in the eighth grade were slightly less likely than black students to report having used marijuana in the last 30 days (6 percent versus 7 percent, respectively). Approximately 14 to 15 percent of both white and black tenth grade students reported using marijuana within the past month. (See Table 1)

Related Indicators

Binge Drinking, Daily Cigarette Use, Illicit Drug Use, Substance Free Youth

State and Local Estimates

2005 estimates of marijuana use among high school students are available for select states and cities from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf (See Table 31)

Estimates of marijuana use among 12- to 17-year-olds are available for all 50 states for 2004-2005 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k4State/appB.htm#TabB.3 (See Table B.3)
NOTE: Estimates of drug use from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, used to generate these state-level estimates, are generally lower than estimates generated by the Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF). The MTF was the source of the national estimates presented in this indicator, and users should not make direct comparisons of estimates made from the two sources. For information on methodological differences in the surveys that may be causing these differences in estimates, see Harrison, L.D. (2001). "Understanding the differences in youth drug prevalence rates produced by the MTF, NHSDA, and YRBS studies." Journal of Drug Issues, 31(3), pp. 665-694.

International Estimates

International estimates of lifetime and 30-day marijuana use are available from the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) 2003 summary of finding report, available at: http://www.espad.org/sa/node.asp?node=641

National Goals

Through its Healthy People 2010 initiative, the federal government has set a national goal to decrease the "proportion of adolescents reporting use of marijuana in the last 30 days" from 8.3 percent in 1998 (for ages 12-17) to 0.7 percent by 2010.

More information is available at: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/26-10.htm (See 26-10b)

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

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Research References

¹Martin, BR "Marijuana: What It Is and What It Does." From the National Conference on Marijuana Use: Prevention, Treatment, and Research, Conference Highlights. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Online. Available at http://www.drugabuse.gov/PDF/MJConf/MJTitlePage.html

²The NHSDA Report: Obtaining Marijuana Easy for Youths. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: August 2001. Available online at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k1/youthGetMJ/youthGetMJ.cfm

³"Nida Infofax, Science Based Facts on Drug Abuse and Addiction: Marijuana." National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes on Health. Available online at: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/marijuana.html

⁴ Hubbard JR, Franco SE, Onaivi ES. "Marijuana: Medical Implications." The American Academy of Family Physicians: December 1999. Available at: http://www.aafp.org/afp/991201ap/2583.html

⁵"Nida Infofax, Science Based Facts on Drug Abuse and Addiction: Marijuana." National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes on Health. Available online at: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/marijuana.html

⁶The Monitoring the Future Study, University of Michigan. "Table 1: Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for 8th, 10th, 12th Graders" available online at: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/04data/pr04t1.pdf

Definition

Students are defined as marijuana users when they answer "one or more times" to the question "On how many occasions (if any) have you used marijuana during the last 30 days?"

Data Source

Data for 1976-2006 from original analysis by Child Trends of Monitoring the Future survey data.

Raw Data Source

Bachman, Jerald G., Lloyd D. Johnston, and Patrick M. O'Malley. Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (8th, 10th, and 12th-Grade Surveys), 1976-2006 [Computer files]. Conducted by University of Michigan, Survey Research Center. ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].
ICPSR: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu
Monitoring the Future: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

Approximate Date of Next Update

November 2008

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