(NEWsnet/AP) — Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to analysis of national survey data.
Those people now outnumber people who say they are daily or nearly-daily consumers of alcohol.
Alcohol still is more widely used, but 2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.
“A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use,” Caulkins said.
The research, based on data fromNational Survey on Drug Use and Health, was published Wednesday in the journal Addiction.
In 2022, an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily, compared to 14.7 million drinkers, according to the study.
From 1992 to 2022, the per capita rate of reporting daily or near-daily marijuana use increased 15-fold. Caulkins acknowledged in the study that people may be more willing to report marijuana use as public acceptance grows.
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