Marijuana Statistics: Children & Teens

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Marijuana has always been a popular drug among children and teens, and statistics show it is rapidly growing ever more common. Legalization and medical marijuana initiatives are making the drug more available while also leading to the gross misperception that marijuana is harmless, or even healthy. Here are some facts and statistics on marijuana use among children and teens:

  1. Since the early 1990s and continuing to the present day, teens have reported they use marijuana more frequently than alcohol. (Johnston, O’Malley & Bachman, 2003)

  1. First-time use of marijuana is highest among 12- to 17-year-olds (73% in 1999, and 87.6% in 1996), which means your teen is likely to try pot before their 18th birthday. (Hanson et al., 2004)

  1. In 2016, data from the Monitoring the Future study found that 0.7% of 8th graders were smoking marijuana daily, along with 2.5% of 10th graders and 6% of 12th graders. (Johnston et al., 2017)

  1. In national surveys, 6.5% of high school senior submitted to daily marijuana use. (Khamsi, 2013)

  1. Another study found 14% of 8th graders had used marijuana at least once in the previous year, with the number increasing to 35% for 12th graders. (Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2012)

  1. More than one-third of high school seniors tried pot in 2012, and one in 15 smoked it daily. (Wenner-Moyer, 2012)

  2. n 2000, 18.3% of 12- to 17-year-olds had used pot before, 13.4% in the past year and 7.2% in the past month. (Hanson et al., 2004, p. ~) 30

  3. In 2008, 6.7% of 12- to 17-year-olds had used marijuana in the previous month, roughly the same as in 2007. (Leinwand, 9-11-2009)

Trends in teen marijuana use

  1. The number of high school seniors who had used marijuana in the past year peaked in 1979 at 51%. Use of the drug then steadily declined, hitting a low of 22% in 1992, before rebounding again.

  1. In 1991, 3.2% of 8th graders had used marijuana in the past 30 days. By 1999, this number had jumped to 9.7%. (Hanson et al., 2004, p. 53)

  1. A 2011 Monitoring the Future study found 12.4% of eighth- and 10th graders had used marijuana in the previous month, the highest rate since 2003. (Leinwand-Leger, 9-25-2012)


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