Big increases in marijuana, hallucinogen, alcohol use among adults, study finds

Marijuana use among young and middle-aged adults has significantly increased in the past decade, a newly released study finds, a rise that experts attribute to increased social acceptance and expanded legalization, and the stress and isolation of the pandemic.

Binge drinking and the use of hallucinogens is also up, the latest numbers from the University of Michigan’s decades-old Monitoring the Future study found. Although cigarette smoking is at a historic low among young adults, vaping nicotine and marijuana are at an all-time high.

The percent of adults 19 to 30 who used marijuana over the previous year rose from 28% in 2012 to almost 44% in 2022, according to the study of more than 10,000 adults 19 to 50. The research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The percentage of marijuana users ages 35 to 50 more than doubled in that time period, from 13% to nearly 28%. The study did not specify data for people aged 31 to 34.

“Access to cannabis has really contributed to people's use, partly because they don't have to go find an illegal outlet, and partly because I think for some people, that can signal that the use of that drug is OK,” said R. Lorraine Collins, a public health professor at the University at Buffalo who studies addiction and substance use.

New York and 22 other states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana since 2012, and 38 have legalized it for medical use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks in a row, showed a significant increase among those 35 to 50, from almost 25% in a two-week period in 2019 to more than 29% in 2022.

Jaclyn McCarthy, director of integrated and mobile treatment for Hicksville-based CN Guidance & Counseling Services said higher use of alcohol, marijuana and other substances in the past few years is in part because of the effects of COVID-19.

“Trends like this can be linked back to what people faced during the pandemic: Isolation, anxiety, increased depression, all of these things that we know go hand in hand with substance use,” she said.

The rise in marijuana use may in part also be because discussion of its health benefits has enhanced its image, said Nehal Vadhan, associate director of the Center for Addiction Services and Personalized Interventions Research at Northwell Health's Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens. Research indicates marijuana can reduce chronic pain and help with other conditions. But some people may believe marijuana can resolve a whole range of health problems, despite a lack of evidence, he said.

“The average person is not going to pay attention to the specifics about what the evidence has shown,” he said.

Vadhan said he’s more concerned about daily use of marijuana than overall use. More than 11% of young adults reported using marijuana every day in 2022, double the 5.6% in 2012. Daily use among adults 35 to 50 also doubled, to 6.5% from 3%.

“The daily use is where you start to get worried that people are becoming dependent on it and require potentially some intervention, if it’s causing problems,” he said.

McCarthy said in determining whether any substance use is problematic, “we look at how that use is impacting your life. Is it impacting your work, your social life, your relationships, and your ability to get up and do things, in a negative way?”

Use of hallucinogens such as mushrooms, MDMA and LSD also rose significantly: 8% of young adults reported using them the previous year in 2022, up from 3.4% in 2012, and 4.1% of adults 35 to 50 reported use in 2022, eight times higher than the 0.5% who reported use in 2012.

Oregon’s legalization of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic obtained from mushrooms, in 2020, and publicity over potential benefits of hallucinogens in therapy, may be helping to drive that increase, Vadhan said.

The percentage of young adults vaping marijuana in the previous 30 days more than doubled between 2017 and 2022, to 13.9%, and the proportion vaping nicotine nearly tripled, to 17.2%.

Collins said that is concerning, but she is buoyed by the continued decline in cigarette smoking, particularly among young adults. Only 8.5% of adults 19 to 30 smoked a cigarette in the previous 30 days in 2022, down from 28.8% in 2004.

Laws prohibiting smoking in indoor public spaces, sometimes in residential buildings, are a factor, as are public-health campaigns on the negative health effects of tobacco, she said.

“Smoking has become a dirty habit,” Collins said. “It’s not cool. The reduction in cigarette use is a major win for public health.”

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.