U.S. College Students Tend To Smoke Marijuana On a Daily Basis

A new study points out that U.S. college students tend to smoke marijuana on a daily basis, as their numbers increased over the last 35 years. It seems that, instead of resorting to cigarettes, marijuana is their favorite way of blowing some steam.

The study was conducted by the University of Michigan, via their campaign Monitoring the Future, and revealed that 6 percent of students admitted to using the specific recreational drug almost daily, in 2014, whereas in 2007 there was a percentage of 3.5 in the same situation. The highest percentage recorded was in 1980 – 7.2.

The fact that college students use marijuana nearly or every day is emphasized by the fact that the surveyed, encompassing 6 percent, said they used pot approximately 20 times across a 30-day time frame. But cigarette usage is making a comeback too, as 5 percent of those surveyed said they smoked regular cigarettes that often as well.

Moreover, the campaign Monitoring the Future surveyed approximately 1,000-1,500 college students in order to gather data for the study. The campaign has been going on since 1980.

The study’s main author, Lloyd Johnston, reported that more and more students started using marijuana over the last 7-8 years, whereas high-school seniors also frequently smoke pot.

The research study also said that many of those in question perceive marijuana as harmless. The legalization of the drug and less drastic policies also played a key-role in the fact that marijuana usage increased among young adults.

Moreover, Colorado and Washington legalized the drug for recreational purposes in 2012, while the District of Columbia, Oregon and Alaska soon followed the pattern.

But the use of some illicit drugs, such as LSD and heroin, has indeed decreased. Moreover, there’s the decline in ecstasy and amphetamines use. Ecstasy is generally used at parties, whereas amphetamines are believe to help students focus on their studies.

On the other hand, cocaine usage increased, as 4.4 percent of students admitted to have used it in 2014, whereas, in 2013, 2.7 percent had used the stimulant.

But over-the-edge alcohol usage is another factor not to be neglected, as

“there are still a sizable number of students who consume alcohol at particularly dangerous levels,” Johnston reported.

He finally pointed out that, as  cigarette smoking rates dropped substantially, it was really good news, as it was widely known that smoking cigarettes or other tobacco-related products might lead to lung cancer or other serious illnesses.

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