WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to the latest Monitoring the Future survey, the use of cannabis and hallucinogen among adults aged 19-30, and 35-50 remained at 'historically high levels' in 2023.
'The survey is an important source of information about substance use trends among the adult population in the US,' commented Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, has been conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research since 1975.
The survey disclosed that 42 percent of adults 19-30 reported using cannabis in 2023, with 10 percent using it daily. Nearly 30 percent of adults aged 35-50 also reported using it last year.
'I'm kind of struck at how frequent daily cannabis use is. You know, about 10 percent of the 19- to 30-year-olds; that's 1 in 10,' Compton said. 'On average, a certain number of people in any group that's a sizable portion are using marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis. And I think that bears watching, and those levels are at a historical high. Although they didn't increase this year compared to the previous year, they're still at quite high levels.'
On gender-basis, the study found that women aged 19-30 reported higher cannabis use than their male counterparts. While, men aged 35-50 reported a higher use of cannabis than females in the same age group.
Meanwhile, the use of hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, peyote, PC and shrooms or psilocybin, was reported to be 9 percent among adults aged 19-30, and 4 percent among adults aged 35-50.
'We have seen that people at different stages of adulthood are trending toward use of drugs like cannabis and psychedelics and away from tobacco cigarettes,' said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 'These findings underscore the urgent need for rigorous research on the potential risks and benefits of cannabis and hallucinogens - especially as new products continue to emerge.'
The survey also highlighted that alcohol was the most used substance among adults, with 84 percent of respondents aged 19-30 using it last year. Additionally, 27 percent and 4 percent of participants of the same age group reported binge drinking and daily drinking, respectively.
'I think we've had very good news about declining cigarette smoking for several years. That's been particularly true for the younger cohorts. So our concern has been that the rise in vaping - and much higher rates of nicotine vaping in the last few years - might represent a new entree into nicotine addiction and eventual transition to the smoked products, which are so strongly associated with cancer and lung damage,' Compton said.
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