Given that July 4–10 is National Marijuana Facts Week, the Drug Report has compiled a list of facts from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
- 64.2 million Americans aged 12 or older, including 2.7 million between the ages of 12–17, used marijuana in the past year. This number corresponds to 22.3% of Americans aged 12 or older and 10.4% of those between the ages of 12–17.
- 20.6 million Americans aged 12 or older––or approximately one in three past-year marijuana users––had a marijuana use disorder in the past year. This condition is characterized by continued use despite negative consequences and is informally known as addiction to marijuana.
- 35.2% of 12–17-year-olds thought there was a great risk of harm associated with smoking marijuana once or twice a week. In comparison, 76.2% thought there was a great risk of harm associated with using cocaine once or twice a week, while 76.1% thought the same about heroin.
- 34.9% of 12–17-year-olds said it would be fairly easy or very easy to obtain marijuana. In comparison, it was 7.6% for cocaine and 4.7% for heroin.
- 11.7 million Americans aged 16 or older drove under the influence of marijuana in the past year, corresponding to 4.3% of this population. Among 21–25-year-olds, the percentage doubled to 8.6%.
- 102,000 pregnant women between the ages of 15–44 used marijuana in the past month. In comparison, 95,000 drank alcohol in the past month.
- 53% of individuals aged 18 or older with a marijuana use disorder also had a mental illness. In comparison, 41% of adults with an alcohol use disorder also had a mental illness.
- 10.8% of past-year marijuana users aged 18 or older had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. In comparison, 5.8% of past-year alcohol users aged 18 or older had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year.
Created by Johnny’s Ambassadors in 2021, National Marijuana Facts Week “raises public awareness about the dangers of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC products on adolescent brain development, mental illnesses such as Cannabis-Induced Psychosis, and suicidality.”
A more complete list of statistics about marijuana’s harms, in addition to outcomes associated with legalization, can be found in Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s Impact Report.