Marijuana use by teens and young adults is continuing to steadily decline, according to data released today by the federal agency SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
According to the agency’s latest annual report, the percentage of adolescents (those ages 12 to 17) and young adults (those ages 18 to 25) reporting past-month and past-year cannabis use is falling. Specifically, past-month cannabis use fell 22 percent among teens between 2022 and 2025. Past-year use fell 25 percent during this same period. The agency also reported that far fewer teens are initiating cannabis use.
Among young adults, past-month marijuana use fell 10 percent between 2022 and 2025. The percentage of those reporting any cannabis use in the past year fell 12 percent.
“Adolescents aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 continued to show downward or stable trends in most behavioral health indicators over the past five years,” SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll said in a prepared statement.
SAMHSA’s data is consistent with statistics compiled by other government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Michigan, finding that young people’s use of cannabis has fallen to historic lows nationally. An analysis published last year by the Marijuana Policy Project similarly reported that teen marijuana use has declined in nearly every state that has legalized and regulated the adult-use cannabis market.
By contrast, self-reported marijuana use among those ages 26 and older has increased in recent years, particularly among older adults.
Commenting on the latest federally sponsored survey data, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “Alarmist claims that adult-use legalization laws are linked with greater marijuana use by teens are simply not backed by government data. These findings ought to reassure lawmakers that cannabis access can be legally regulated in a manner that is safe, effective, and that does not inadvertently impact young people’s habits.”
Full text of the report is available from SAMHSA. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates.’
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