# Cato Scholar Statement: Don’t Let Cannabis Data Spark a Moral Panic 

The reported rise in problematic cannabis use deserves attention, but it shouldn’t become the basis for a new moral panic.

August 20, 2026 • News Releases 

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](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-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](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/well/cannabis-use-disorder-alcohol.html?emc=edit_nn_20260820&nl=the-morning&segment_id=225118) [rise](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2852558?guestAccessKey=e3ac6de1-bf26-4c65-a5a2-7d2d0eb3ece3&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_c) 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](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833180) found that cannabis misuse [declined](https://www.cato.org/blog/canada-took-leap-legal-weed-five-years-later-no-meltdown) 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](mailto:pr@cato.org).

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