Jan. 5, 2022 – Practically 1 in 5 folks within the U.S. age 12 or older mentioned they used marijuana in 2021, in keeping with new federal survey outcomes.

Among the many 52 million individuals who mentioned they used marijuana prior to now yr, younger adults ages 18 to 25 had been the most certainly to report doing so, at 35%. That age group was additionally the most certainly to report having a psychological sickness prior to now yr, at 34%.

The findings had been a part of the annual Nationwide Survey on Drug Use and Well being launched Wednesday by the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration. 

“Because the findings clarify, thousands and thousands of People younger and previous confronted psychological well being and substance use challenges – generally each directly – in the course of the second yr of the pandemic,” U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers Secretary Xavier Becerra mentioned in a assertion.

The survey befell each in individual and on-line, and on account of modifications in the way it was carried out, officers mentioned the info can’t be precisely in comparison with the outcomes of earlier years. However there have been many indicators that drug use and psychological sickness elevated with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total, the 2021 survey outcomes confirmed that 57.8% of individuals age 12 or older at the moment use tobacco, alcohol, or a bootleg drug, together with 47.5% who mentioned they drink alcohol, 19.5% who mentioned they use tobacco merchandise, and 14.3% who mentioned they use illicit medicine. Present use was outlined as utilizing a substance throughout the month earlier than taking the survey.

Along with being essentially the most prevalent age group amongst marijuana customers and people with psychological sickness, 18- to 25-year-olds had been the most certainly to have a substance use dysfunction prior to now yr. The survey confirmed that 94% of individuals with a substance use dysfunction didn’t get remedy, and researchers wrote that “almost all folks with a substance use dysfunction who didn’t get remedy at a specialty facility didn’t assume they wanted remedy.”