MARIJUANA ABUSE AMONG ADULTS RISES
Researchers Say Higher Potency of Drugs May Be 1 Reason
for Increase
CHICAGO - Habitual marijuana use increased among U.S.
adults over the past decade, particularly among young
minorities and baby boomers, government figures show.
The prevalence of marijuana abuse or dependence climbed
from 1.2 percent of adults in 1991-92 to 1.5 percent in
2001-02, or an estimated 3 million adults 18 and over.
That represents an increase of 22 percent, or 800,000
people, according to data from two nationally
representative surveys that each queried more than
40,000 adults.
Among 18- to 29-year-olds, the rate of abuse or
dependence remained stable among whites but surged by
about 220 percent among black men and women, to 4.5
percent of that population, and by almost 150 percent
among Hispanic men, to 4.7 percent.
Among all adults ages 45 to 64, the rate increased by
355 percent, to about 0.4 percent of that population.
The report, published in today's Journal of the American
Medical Association, was led by Dr. Wilson Compton
of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who said the
rise in dependence was probably due at least partly to
increases in the potency of pot over the past decade.
