Teenagers Are Smoking Less Weed Than They Were 10 Years Ago, Despite Legalization

With marijuana legalization via public referendum Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, it seems like weed is more popular than ever before. But in reality, according to SCIENCE!, teenagers are smoking LESS marijuana as a whole then they were 10 years ago. The findings come from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study, which tracks substance use trends among students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades:

Marijuana use, after five years of increasing among teens, actually declined slightly in 2014, with use in the prior 12 months declining from 26 percent to 24 percent for the three grades combined. Personal disapproval of use is also down some in 8th and 12th grades.

Reported availability, on the other hand, is down significantly since 2013 in the two lower grades (and unchanged in 12th grade), which may help to explain the modest decline in use this year.

Current daily or near-daily marijuana use—defined as use on 20 or more occasions in the prior 30 days—also declined some in 2014; nonetheless, it remains quite high. About one in every 17 high school seniors in 2014 (5.8 percent) is a current daily or near-daily marijuana user, which is down from 6.5 percent in 2013.

Here’s a graph of teenager marijuana trends via Mic:

Near-daily use remains high? Guess the kids are still listening to Dr. Dre songs that were released 15 years ago. And what can you say? There’s always going to be a lot of Jeff Spicoli’s in the world.

Grannies, on the other hand:

[H/T: Animal NY]

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com