There are growing reports that problem cannabis use is on the rise. A JAMA Psychiatry study published yesterday found that past-year cannabis use disorder jumped from 7.3% to 9.3% among men and from 4.5% to 5.6% among women between 2021 and 2024.
Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer, senior fellow, Cato Institute’s Department of Health Policy Studies, offers the following statement on what the trend does and doesn’t mean for cannabis policy:
The reported rise in problematic cannabis use deserves attention, but it shouldn’t become the basis for a new moral panic. After alcohol prohibition ended, drinking increased for decades before declining as Americans developed knowledge and social norms around responsible use. Cannabis may be undergoing a similar adjustment. Indeed, a five-year Canadian study found that cannabis misuse declined after legalization, with frequent pre-legalization users reducing both their use and misuse. We should educate people about cannabis’s risks, not assume that today’s trends represent the long-run effects of legalization—or that prohibition is the answer.
If you’d like to speak with Dr. Singer, please contact Cato PR at pr@cato.org.
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