SAMHSA Releases Info on Drug Use Changes for 2012-2013

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released data in December for the most recent findings of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Among the data of various drugs and usage levels by state, of interest to weedists is data on cannabis use in the past couple of years. So we finally get to see what effects have taken place with all of the victories in legalization happening in various states.

The survey found, what should come as no surprise, a large increase in cannabis use in Colorado and Washington, both of which legalized cannabis in 2012. Whelp, that’s a wrap, let’s call it a day. Joking aside, the data reveals other interesting numbers.

Cannabis usage in Oklahoma and Nebraska has remained rather constant since 2012. In fact, these states have some of the lowest rates of cannabis use in all of the U.S. So by these numbers, it may at least show us that the concern of legal cannabis flowing into these states and the ensuing lawsuit are unwarranted, but these numbers are still inconclusive. Kansas, a neighboring state of Colorado, has the lowest rate of cannabis use in the nation (but that might just be because it’s ya know, Kansas. I’m kidding of course).

It is important to note that the latest data shows numbers only up through 2014, when possession of weed was legalized. The numbers might change in the coming years, as the states have now setup taxed and regulated systems for the cannabis market — we still don’t have the numbers for 2014, which is when these changes were implemented. Colorado and Washington weren’t the only states who saw a spike in cannabis use — Maine, Georgia, Maryland and Missouri all saw increases as well.

Another significant bit of information that the data shows is that increases in cannabis use in Washington and Colorado were by and large exclusive to adults. In Washington, the increase in use was almost exclusively in the age group of people 26 years old and above. Use among kids in the age range of 12 to 17 did show slight increase, but not to a statistically significant degree. These findings should quell the complaints of naysayer and doom and gloom prophesies that legalizing weed will instantly lead to the rampant addiction of our youth.

The increase in cannabis use in legalized states should not be cause for any concern, in fact, it is what we’d expect and hope for as proponents of legalization. It is important to remember that these trends may change once we get more data from after the legal cannabis market had/has been established.

Another factor that may account for some of the increase is the novelty factor. People who previously abstained from cannabis may have been more likely to try cannabis, as it was no longer against the law and more easily accessible. The future is yet to reveal what trends we will see in cannabis use, as new developments in the legal weed market take hold.