Teen Marijuana Use has Declined, National Survey Finds

Even though two states have legalized recreational marijuana, the number of teens who use the substance has declined, according to a new national survey conducted as a part of the National Institutes on Drug Abuse and University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study.

"There is a lot of good news in this year's results, but the problems of teen substance use and abuse are still far from going away," Lloyd Johnston, the study's principal investigator, said, reported by USA Today.

"We have not seen increases in the use, which is something we were afraid would happen," Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, added according to the Denver Post.

For this study, the researchers conduct annual surveys, reaching 40,000 to 50,000 students attending 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in schools throughout the country. The surveys ask teens about their alcohol and drug use. Drugs include both illegal and legal substances.

From the latest survey results, the team calculated that from 2013 to 2014, the rate of marijuana use declined from 26 percent to 24 percent after five years of increases. In the older teen group, the percentage of high school seniors who smoked weed fell from 6.5 percent to 5.8 percent. Students in the lower grades added that marijuana has become less available than it use to be.

"Efforts at the federal and state levels to close down the sale of these substances may be having an effect," Johnston explained.

The survey also found that use of other substances has declined. Only six percent of 12th graders stated that they used synthetic marijuana, such as K2 and Spice, in 2014, whereas in 2011, the rate was at 11 percent. Prescription drug abuse also fell from 16 percent in 2013 to 14 percent in 2014 among high school seniors. Cigarette and alcohol use has fallen as well.

"Both alcohol and cigarette use in 2014 are at their lowest points since the study began in 1975," the study's authors conclude in a press release.

For more information on the report, click here.