Americans now smoke weed more than they drink alcohol, with a notable increase in usage over the last four decades, a new study has found.
The research, initiated by Jonathan P. Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University, analyzed data from 1979 to 2022 that assessed marijuana usage alongside the impact of evolving policies.
He found a dramatic rise in the number of people reporting that they smoked weed either daily or nearly every day. This surpassed the number of daily alcohol users for the first time in 2022.
In 1992, the survey recorded 10 times as many daily or near daily alcohol drinkers as cannabis users (8.9 million vs. 0.9 million). In 2022, it recorded 17.7 million cannabis users and 14.7 million alcohol drinkers.
The survey says: "Far more people drink, but high-frequency drinking is less common. 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. In 2022, past-month cannabis consumers were 7.4 times more likely to report daily use (28.2 percent vs. 3.8 percent)."
"The enormous changes in rates of self-reported cannabis use, particularly of daily or near-daily use, suggest that changes in actual use have been considerable," said Caulkins, a professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College, in a statement. "It is striking that high-frequency cannabis use is now more commonly reported than is high-frequency drinking."
This shift coincides with periods of policy liberalization, suggesting a strong correlation between regulatory changes and consumer behavior.
The study found that in 1979, when there were more liberal policies, marijuana use was more common. This trend reversed during the era of Reagan-Bush from 1981 to 1993. And simultaneously, marijuana usage declined sharply.
"These trends mirror changes in policy, with declines during periods of greater restriction and growth during periods of policy liberalization," Caulkins summarized in a statement.
However he notes this does not necessarily mean that policy changes drive use. It is possible that the increase followed general culture and attitudes toward the drug.
"But whichever way causal arrows point, cannabis use now appears to be on a fundamentally different scale than it was before legalization," Caulkins said.
From 2008 onward, however, there was a noticeable increase in weed use, the study reported, particularly among those using it daily or near-daily.
"Reported cannabis use declined to a nadir in 1992, with partial recovery through 2008, and substantial increases since then," Caulkins noted in the study. "Between 2008 and 2022, the per capita rate of reporting past-year use increased by 120 percent, and days of use reported per capita increased by 218 percent."
Marijuana is legal for recreational use in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C..
The study raises questions about the long-term health impact of frequent marijuana consumption. As more states move toward legalization and regulation, understanding these trends becomes crucial for developing informed public health strategies and policies, the study reported.
Caulkins also highlights the need for ongoing research to monitor the effects of marijuana legalization and to adapt policies based on emerging data.
The full study can be accessed at the Wiley Online Library here.
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