Thursday Edition of Friday Fact due to the July 4th Holiday:
Federal data indicate that the vast majority of marijuana users use it exclusively as a recreational drug. According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 84% of the 64 million past-year marijuana users aged 12 or older did not report using marijuana that was recommended by a doctor. Approximately 6% of past-year marijuana users reported using marijuana for both recreational and medical purposes, and 10% reported using marijuana only when it was recommended by a doctor. The Department of Health and Human Services arrived at a similar conclusion, noting that the percentage of users who used marijuana only for recreational purposes fluctuated between 84.2% and 89.0% in the years between 2015 and 2021. Marijuana has not been approved as a medicine by the Food and Drug Administration, and its high potential for abuse warrants its inclusion in Schedule 1.