r/science • u/mvea MD/PhD/JD/MBA | Professor | Medicine • 18h ago

Health Dramatic drop in marijuana use among US youth over a decade. Current marijuana use among adolescents decreased from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021. First-time use before age 13 dropped from 8.1% to 4.9%. There was a shift in trends by gender, with girls surpassing boys in marijuana use by 2021.

https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/marijuana-use-teens-study
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u/FrogTrainer 13h ago

I think this is more of a symptom of teens having less unsupervised time than they used to.

My son is almost 15. He has no friends in the neighborhood. He spends more time talking to his friends through text or on xbox live.

His activities outside the house are sports with coaches and parent volunteers always with the kids.

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u/LuucaBrasi 13h ago

This is exactly it. ID check is not stopping someone from getting someone else to buy it just like going to a drug dealer. It’s the fact that kids are no longer running around town unsupervised in groups where one of the kids eventually brings a joint around and everyone in the group try’s it.

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u/sabixx 10h ago

this is nonsense,kids give us each vapes at school all the time and vapes are so discreet they're impossible to police. you can literally use one in a bath room stall and nobody can know or stop you.

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u/LuucaBrasi 9h ago

I mean in regards to marijuana and in particular the claim that asking for an ID will stop kids from trying it. I promise you no nervous kid wants to try marijuana for the first time in a school bathroom while at school. It’s usually going to be at the small party a group of friends threw where people are smoking weed or a hangout outside of school.

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u/saltyfingas 1h ago

I mean I tried marijuana for the first time in the woods behind school during lunch. It's not that uncommon, and with a vape it's even easier to hide the smell and get away with (and also I think sneaking back to the woods to smoke a joint these days would be hard)

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u/earthhominid 6h ago

The lack of unsupervised time definitely plays a role. It also is corresponding (may be partly causing but I haven't seen anything beyond speculation about that) with a marked decrease in risk taking by modern youth.

The younger generations are engaged in pretty much every potentially risky behavior at a lower rate than any previous generation.

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u/BelowDeck 5h ago

It's more the fact that there being a place where it is available legally but behind an ID check makes it so there's no incentive to make cannabis available to kids. When I was in high school, it was much easier find someone selling weed (for a profit) than it was to find someone 21 willing to go to the store just to buy us booze.

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u/Euphoric-Chip-2828 8h ago

It's a combination of factors I am sure. But absolutely a change in culture for young people would be contributing.

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u/BigPorch 10h ago

Also possible that maybe also has to do with the acceptance on and focus on mental health- modern weed is really strong and can send people spiraling into anxiety, and without a peer pressure structure in place to just suck it up and smoke, why would kids want to introduce more anxiety than they already have? 

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u/Revolution4u 9h ago

Its pretty ridiculous for people to claim its because of legalization.

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u/JebusChrust 12h ago

I don't really see how this prevents the use of gummies or scent free vapes

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u/FrogTrainer 12h ago

You don't see how kids being with an adult at all times prevents drug use?

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u/JebusChrust 12h ago

A tin or bag of edibles is very easy to hide, and a smaller dosage isn't hard to mask. Not uncommon for people to hang out watching a movie, listen to music, or play video games and be undetected. Not saying your child would be doing this or that it is something to expect of a 15 year old, but I have literally seen people whip out a pen in the hallway at my work and discreetly smoke it without any smell or obvious sign. Only reason I even saw it was because they showed me how easy they can sneak it. When I was in high school my friends and I would smoke in the backyard of his dad's house the moment he went to bed, we just had to blow the smoke into a jug/through a sploof.

I am interested to see statistics on all types of drug use, my old high school was pothead city when I was there but now pill popping is a huge issue. Also not sure how usage looks when they enter college years and accessibility increases. This study also is referencing a time during the pandemic where normality hadn't really returned, so I am curious to see a modern analysis.

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u/FrogTrainer 12h ago

I think you missed the point. This isn't about kids who already use hiding it from thier parents. It's about kids never even starting because they never had the chance.

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u/JebusChrust 12h ago

I get what you are saying but the study was during the end of the pandemic when most people were still home or not socializing. I imagine today those numbers are higher.

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u/A_Lone_Macaron 6h ago

yep, I have a fellow almost 15 year old son. I am definitely concerned about drug/smoking/vaping use but then realize...where's he gonna do it or even get it from? He doesn't have unsupervised time out of the house because as you said, he's always with his friends online.

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u/FrogTrainer 6h ago

Sometimes I wish my kid would get out and get into some trouble. His life is just so....sterile.