Can you guess the time of year when people have the least amount of marijuana consumption?
For most people, marijuana uses ebb and flow. There are weeks when you smoke a lot and other weeks when you are busy with other things. New research on drug use over the course of a year suggests that there is seasonal variation; While everyone’s relationship with marijuana is personal and different, there is an arc that many of us follow.
A recent study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that marijuana use falls at the beginning of the year and increases periodically by 13% over the seasons. Researchers suggest that this turnover could be influenced by New Year’s resolutions.
“We found that marijuana use was consistently higher among those surveyed later in the year, peaking in late fall or early winter before declining at the beginning of the following year. We believe this is partly due to a “dry January” when some people stop drinking alcohol or even use marijuana as part of a New Year’s resolution, “said Joseph Palamar, associate professor and director of the NYU School of Medicine Author of the study. “We are now in the season when people use marijuana the least.”
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The data was compiled by Palamar and his colleagues, who analyzed the responses from over 200,000 adolescents and adults who responded to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2014 and 2019.
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The survey included questions like marijuana use last month, other substances used, and more, which enabled researchers to make drug estimates for the different quarters of the year. In all years, marijuana use increased over the months. This increase was seen in almost all population groups, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and educational level of the participants. The only exception was teenagers, who used more marijuana in the summer and showed drops in the rest of the year.
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Aside from being interesting, this type of data is helpful for many reasons. Cannabis studies of this type provide guidance for researchers who want to know more about drug use and drug behavior of people, the right timing of drug addiction programs, and for marijuana users who may want to keep track of the amount of cannabis they use during the winter .
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