Pot-use higher & higher
Soars with youth
Today’s youth have become Generation Wrecked.
The number of young adults smoking marijuana has skyrocketed as cannabis usage has been legalized across much of the United States — including now in New York, a new survey released Monday reveals.
Some 26% of people ages 18 to 29 — a group that includes older members of Gen Z and younger millennials — smoke marijuana, up from 17% in 2015, the Gallup Poll analysis found.
That’s more than double the number of young adults who smoke cigarettes, which has plummeted from 35% in 2003 to 25%, a decade ago to 12% today, the Gallup report said.
“Public health officials would be encouraged by the steep decline in cigarette smoking over the past two decades, a trend driven largely by plummeting smoking rates among young adults,” pollsters wrote.
“But young adults are increasingly smoking marijuana, perhaps because it is now legal to use in a growing number of states, and vaping. Both vaping and marijuana are more common activities for young adults than traditional cigarette smoking.”
As legal map widens
Twenty-one states have legalized cannabis for recreational use — including many in the population centers on the East and West coasts.
Other states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania, have legalized medicinal pot.
The Gallup findings buttress a recent study by Temple University researchers published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
“Following recreational legalization: adolescent and young adult past-month cannabis use prevalence increased,” the study said.
The researchers warned about an increase in addictive pot smoking or “cannabis use disorder” (CUD) that was going untreated.
Overall, 27% of all American adults smoke either marijuana, cigarettes or vapes, Gallup said.