UW survey: 1 in 10 Washington ‘young adults’ use cannabis every day
May 23, 2024, 4:41 AM
Marijuana plants are shown at a California Street Cannabis Company location in San Francisco on March 20, 2023. (Photo: Jeff Chiu, AP)
(Photo: Jeff Chiu, AP)
The latest Young Adult Health Survey, conducted by researchers through the University of Washington (UW), revealed daily cannabis consumption has never been higher among young adults.
“How often in the last year, month or week have you used marijuana?” was one of the many questions 1,237 young adults anonymously answered in the survey.
“The number of young adults smoking marijuana every day is higher than ever at 10.4%,” UW researcher Dr. Jason Kilmer told members of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, according to The Center Square. It’s the first time in the survey’s 10-year history that daily use surpassed 10%.
Among those between the ages of 21-25, the percentage jumps to 14% daily use.
The survey also revealed 54% of young adult survey respondents never use cannabis, while a quarter use it weekly. It’s the third year in the last four where at least 24% of surveyed individuals stated they use cannabis at least weekly. In 2014, the first year of the survey, the percentage was under 17%.
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People under 21 using cannabis
It was also reported that 14% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 20 — marijuana still being illegal for those under 21 even where it is legal — said they used the substance.
The survey followed up with more questions on how people under the age of 21 are gaining access to cannabis. More than half (58%) responded saying they get it from friends, but others cited their own parents.
Kilmer stated that “15.77% got it from parents with permission,” The Center Square reported. That’s a 10% jump from 2014.
The survey revealed that the 14% figure is the lowest since 2019, the last year before the pandemic and nearly 2% lower than survey results from a year ago.
This was the 10th year the survey had been conducted in Washington, dating back to 2014 — just after cannabis was legalized in the state.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
