US Facing Risk Of Mounting Marijuana Addiction?
Marijuana is still illegal in the U.S., despite many states approving medical marijuana. A new research has shown that more and more Americans are smoking pot more than the past years, leading to an increased risk of marijuana addiction.
The study, published at the online journal Lancet Psychiatry claimed that over 10 million people are now smoking cannabis than 12 years before. Another surprising fact is that roughly 8.4 million Americans smoke pot everyday, that experts warned may increase their risk of marijuana addiction.
Findings of Study:
The findings revealed that the total marijuana users have surged up from 22 million to 32 million covering the period between 2002 and 2014. First-time users have ballooned from 800,000 to 1.4 million.
Dr. Wilson M. Compton, the author of the study, believe that it is not surprising now to see a surge up in marijuana use after medical marijuana have been approved in many states. Comptom said that the changing laws associated with marijuana have increased the number of people using cannabis.
Based on the studies, although Compton and other researchers saw an increase of marijuana users on a daily basis, the cases of marijuana addiction have remained constant. Despite the findings, researchers reiterate the need for educating users about the risks linked to drug use.
They believe that users should be reminded of the dangers of using marijuana that may affect their academic standing. Cannabis is also associated with cross-addiction where marijuana is believed to be a gateway drug for addiction to other stronger substances, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin and opioids.
The increase in the number of marijuana users can be attributed to more people believing that marijuana is safe. In the early days, only one-third of people think that marijuana is harmless, but now half of the American population support that it is safe.
The study also found that as the number of marijuana users increased on a daily basis, marijuana user’s risk to marijuana abuse fell from 15 to 11 percent. The number is a good indication that users are now more aware of the dangers of developing marijuana use disorder.
Another study at the University of Queensland in Australia found that since marijuana has been legalized in many states, the statistics of adult users have increased, but the number of problem users have not. The researchers did not confirm the reasons for the result, but they think the changes in the characteristics of the users contributed to the lesser number of marijuana addiction.
Researchers are looking into the possibilities that the result is based on the theory that since marijuana is legalized, lesser number of people are now using it frequently. However, they said that further studies must be done in order for them to have the right conclusion.