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A new study shows a growing number of people are regularly using cannabis, while frequent alcohol consumption has remained stable.
For the first time on record, cannabis has outpaced alcohol as the daily drug of choice for Americans.
In 2022 there were 17.7 million people who reported using cannabis either every day or nearly every day, compared with 14.7 million who reported using alcohol with the same frequency, according to a study, published on Wednesday in the journal Addiction that analyzed data from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
While far more people drink than use cannabis, drinking frequently has become slightly less common than it was around 15 years ago, the study found. But the proportion of people in the U.S. who use cannabis frequently has increased 15-fold in the three decades since 1992, when daily cannabis use hit a low point.
Cannabis legalization has also rapidly accelerated since the ’90s. The drug is now legal for recreational use in 24 states and Washington, D.C., and for medical use in 38 states and D.C.
The sharp increase in the prevalence of high-frequency cannabis use over the last three decades might partly be attributed to a growing acceptance of the drug, said Jonathan P. Caulkins, a professor of public policy at Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. And because the survey data was self-reported, people may now feel more comfortable disclosing how often they use it.
Even so, “I don’t think that for most daily or near-daily users it is a health-promoting activity,” he added. “For some, it’s truly harmful.”