Dope statistics: High school marijuana use outpaces cigarette smoking

An annual survey shows that for the first time, teen marijuana use may be higher than cigarette smoking, Reuters reports. Conducted by the National Institute for Drug Abuse, the survey of approximately 46,000 students from 396 schools found that 16 percent of eighth graders admitted to using marijuana compared to 14.5 percent last year, while 21 percent of high school seniors reported using marijuana in the past 30 days compared to 19.2 percent who admitted to smoking cigarettes. More startling is the finding that six percent of the high school seniors surveyed use marijuana every day, up from five percent last year.

“I’m really surprised to hear that marijuana use has become more common than cigarette smoking by high school students given that cigarettes are more available,” states ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. But ACSH’s Lana Spivak points out that “you don’t need an ID to get marijuana.” Because cigarette smoking rates among high school students have remained largely unchanged over the last few years, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, the rise in marijuana use to these levels is worrisome. “Given the size of the survey population, a one-percent difference in daily marijuana use by high school seniors in one year, which translates to a 20 percent increase, I would say the change is statistically significant. But even if it isn’t, the absolute number — 6 percent — is troubling in itself. Marijuana addiction, while much less common than opiate, cocaine, or nicotine addiction, does occur and can be a major problem in susceptible individuals.”