Cannabis tops alcohol in daily US consumption

What happened

People who say they use cannabis daily outpaced the number who say they drink alcohol daily for the first time in U.S. history, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Addiction. 

Who said what

While alcohol is "still more widely used," the study of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 2022 marked the first time "intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking," The Associated Press said. Nearly two-fifths of cannabis consumers reported daily or almost every day use, a pattern "more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use," said study author Jonathan Caulkins.

During the "nadir of modern marijuana use, in 1992, just 0.9 million Americans reported using marijuana daily or near daily," Washington Monthly said. That number has grown "20-fold" to 17.7 million, according to the study. And marijuana's potency has increased.

What next?

The Biden administration is working to reclassify cannabis as a less-dangerous drug on the federal level, opening the door for further federal studies and less onerous restrictions on the marijuana industry.

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