Cannabis use 10 times more common among cigarette smokers, study shows

Through Jelena Martinovic

Will Legalization of Recreational Cannabis Increase Overall Use? Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York found that to be the case.

The study, published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found that marijuana and cannabis use is increasing across the country — particularly in states where recreational use is legal.

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Cigarette smokers are more likely to use cannabis

According to the researchers using data from the 2004-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

• Cannabis was up to 10 times more common among cigarette smokers than non-smokers.
• About 33% of cigarette smokers ages 12 and older living in states where recreational marijuana is legal use cannabis occasionally.
• About 18% reported using marijuana on a daily basis.
• Dramatically lower use is observed among non-smokers, with one in ten admitting to having used cannabis in the past month.
• Up to 3% of respondents use it daily.

“Based on data spanning over a decade, cannabis use was significantly more common in states where adult recreational use is legal compared to states where it was not in 2017,” Renee Goodwin, Ph.D., extraordinary extraordinary Professor of epidemiology at said the Columbia Mailman School and professor of epidemiology at CUNY, as well as the lead author of the study.

During the period observed in the study, cannabis use increased “as fast or faster” in states where marijuana use was prohibited by law, Goodwin pointed out.

Will legalizing marijuana lead to an increase in teenage use?

The study also found that 73% of cigarette smokers aged 12 to 17 said they had used cannabis in the past month, while almost a third used it regularly.

The new findings build on recent observational studies, published in the May 26, 2022 online issue of Addiction, which found that legalization of recreational marijuana is increasing youth use. Researchers from the RAND Corporation and the University of Southern California went a step further and proved that the proximity of cannabis dispensaries is not a decisive factor when it comes to marijuana use rates among young people.

RELATED: How smoking marijuana affects oral health

Moreover, recent results published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology even suggest that there are links between adolescent cannabis use and schizophrenia, regardless of whether they used it frequently or infrequently.

Regarding the effects that marijuana has on brain health, the American Heart Association’s scientific statement recently published in the association’s journal, Stroke, sheds light on many of the uncertainties surrounding cannabis use.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty in the medical community about the health effects of marijuana,” said Fernando D. Testai, MD, Ph.D., FAHA, writing group chair, professor of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois. “This scientific statement is intended to guide healthcare professionals to have a balanced and informed discussion with patients about the possible known and unknown effects of marijuana on brain health.”

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels

RELATED: College Students’ Cannabis Use Rarely Linked to Negative Consequences, Study Finds

Multiple surveys have found a decline in youth use of marijuana and other controlled substances — as part of a broader trend dating back to 2013 — attributed to regulated access for adults, which then minimizes the risk of teenage marijuana use.

In fact, the report released earlier this year by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation (CPEAR) revealed that legalizing cannabis at the state level does not typically result in an increase in youth use.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.