Monitoring the Future survey reports increase in marijuana use, decrease in other substances in youth during pandemic

The University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future Survey reported an increase in marijuana use in children and teenagers, yet a decrease in other drug use. This study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that a decrease in social interaction brought on by the pandemic caused youth drug use rates to drop among almost all substances, except for marijuana.

Additionally, data shows that between 2020 and 2021, there were fewer first-time marijuana users, and children’s use of illicit drugs other than marijuana decreased by nearly 40 percent.

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