Young Americans use more marijuana and hallucinogens than ever, says NIH

According to the findings of the study, the number of young people in the United States who use opioids has been on the decline in recent years.

According to a report that was just released this week by the National Institutes of Health, the rate at which young adults in the United States use marijuana and other hallucinogenic substances is higher than it has ever been, while they are taking fewer opioids.

The percentage of people in the United States aged 19 to 30 who have reported consuming marijuana within the past month grew to 29% in 2021, up from 21% in 2016 and just 17% in 2011. This represents a significant increase from those earlier years. Marijuana use on a daily basis has nearly doubled over the course of the last decade, with 11% of young adults indicating that they use marijuana on a daily basis in 2021, as compared to 6% in 2011.

Additionally, there has been a growth in the consumption of hallucinogens such as psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, mescaline, and peyote, amongst others. The percentage of young adults who admitted to having used hallucinogens rose to 8% in 2018, from 5% in 2016 and 3% in 2011, respectively. MDMA, also known by its street name ecstasy, is the only psychedelic whose use has been on the decline.

In the meantime, the use of opioids has been steadily decreasing during the past few years. In 2021,.2% of young adults were reported to have used heroin, which is nearly half of the.4% of young adults who admitted to using heroin in 2011. Over the past ten years, there has been a general decrease in the number of young adults who use prescription opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

Dr. Nora Volkow, who is in charge of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement, “We need to know more about how young adults use drugs like marijuana and hallucinogens and what the health effects are of taking different amounts and types of these drugs.”

“Young adults are at a crucial point in their lives and are getting better at making smart decisions,” she said. “It is important for the next generation to be successful that they understand how drug use can affect the choices they make when they are young adults.”

Even though young adults are using opioids less, the number of overdose deaths is at a record high. This is thought to be because of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

More than 107,000 people in the United States passed away as a result of a drug overdose in 2018, which is the greatest number ever recorded and a significant increase from the 93,655 people who passed away in 2020.

The CDC says that 71,238 drug overdose deaths last year were caused by fentanyl. This is up from 57,834 deaths in 2020.