Marijuana use in US doubled in a decade: study

Marijuana use in the US more than doubled between 2001 and 2013 - from 4.5 to nearly 10 per cent, according to new research.
Laws and attitudes about marijuana are changing, with 23 states having medical marijuana laws and four of these states having also legalised marijuana for recreational use, researchers said.
Bridget F Grant of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and coauthors used nationally representative data on past-year prevalence rates of marijuana use, marijuana use disorder and marijuana use disorder among marijuana users in the US.
The prevalence of past-year marijuana use climbed to 9.5 per cent of adults in 2012-2013 from 4.1 per cent in 2001-2002, with increases particularly notable among women and individuals who were black, Hispanic, living in the South, middle-aged or older, the authors said.

The prevalence of a diagnosis of a past-year marijuana use disorder (abuse or dependence) also increased to 2.9 per cent in 2012-2013 from 1.5 per cent in 2001-2002, which means nearly 3 of every 10 Americans who used marijuana in the past year had a diagnosis of a marijuana use disorder (approximately 6.8 million Americans).
Groups with notable increases included individuals ages 45 to 64 and those individuals who were black or Hispanic, with the lowest incomes or living in the South.

Among marijuana users, the prevalence of marijuana use disorder decreased to 30.6 per cent in 2012-2013 from 35.6 per cent in 2001-2002.

Because there was no increase in the risk for marijuana use disorder found among users, in fact there was a decrease, the increase in prevalence of marijuana use disorders can be attributed to the increase in marijuana users between the two surveys, the authors said.
"In summary, while many in the US think prohibition of recreational marijuana should be ended, this study and others suggest caution and the need for public education about the potential harms in marijuana use, including the risk for addiction," researchers said.
"As is the case with alcohol, many individuals can use marijuana without becoming addicted. However, the clear risk for marijuana use disorders among users (approximately 30 per cent) suggests that as the number of US users grows, so will the numbers of those experiencing problems related to such use," the study concluded.