By the Numbers: Weeding out weed

38%

The share of high school seniors who had never consumed nicotine, alcohol, or marijuana compared with 31 percent in the prior year, according to recently released 2023 data from the annual Monitoring the Future survey. The downward teen trend stands in surprising contrast to rising pot use among young adults ages 19 to 30, of whom 1 in 10 say they use the drug daily.

24

The number of states, plus Washington, D.C., that have legalized marijuana for recreational use for those 21 and older.

36.5%

The share of 12th graders who reported ever using marijuana, down significantly from a high of 60.4 percent in 1979. Roughly half of American adults say they’ve used marijuana, according to the Pew Research Center.

1 in 4

The number of schizophrenia patients who also have “cannabis use disorder,” according to a 2020 study published in Psychopharmacology Bulletin. Some scientists believe marijuana can trigger or exacerbate mental illness.