Marijuana: Cannabis Use is Rising Among Teens While Other Substance Use Declines

First Posted: Jul 20, 2015 05:36 PM EDT

It turns out that marijuana-use in teenagers is on the rise. Scientists have found out that while cigarette and alcohol use are stable or declining, more marijuana is being used.

The researchers analyzed data collected from U.S. high school seniors between 1976 and 2013. Nearly 600,000 students were surveyed over this time period as a part of the project monitoring the Future, a long-term ongoing epidemiological study. In particular, the researchers focused on the use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana over the course of 37 years.

"Our analysis shows that public health campaigns are working-fewer teens are smoking cigarettes," said Stephanie Lanza, one of the researchers, in a news release. "However, we were surprised to find the very clear message that kids are choosing marijuana over cigarettes."

The researchers found a marked decline in cigarette use, particularly among white teens. However, there was an increase in marijuana use, particularly among black teens.

The researchers also found that the rate of teen alcohol consumption has decreased since the mid-1970s. With that said, white adolescents still drink alcohol more than any other substance, and their rate remained higher than that of black teens' throughout the study period.

The scientists also discovered that teens were more likely to use marijuana if they also smoked cigarettes than if they did not, and vice versa. With that said, the findings do reveal that the general trend is downward. However, the findings also reveal the importance of including discussions about marijuana during health campaigns.

The findings are published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.