Record numbers of adults are getting high and binge drinking, study says

Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read
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Binge drinking and the use of marijuana and hallucinogens among adults ages 35 to 50 reached an all-time highs in 2022

Marijuana use and vaping reached record highs among adults ages 19 to 30.

The 2022 findings are part of the most recent installment of the Monitoring the Future study. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, its purpose is to track substance use and monitor trends by asking participants about their drug and alcohol consumption:

Here's what the 19 to 30 age group reported in 2022:

  • A record-breaking 44% reported using marijuana in the last year, compared to 35% in 2017 and 28% in 2012.

  • A record-breaking 11% reported daily marijuana use, compared to 8% in 2017 and 6% in 2012.

  • 22%, also a record number, reported vaping marijuana

  • 24%, yet another record, said they'd vaped nicotine, compared to 14% in 2017.

  • 8% said they'd used hallucinogens, compared to 3% in 2012.

Among adults ages 35 to 50:

  • A record high 28% said they'd used marijuana in the past year, compared to 25% in 2021, 17% in 2017 and 13% in 2012.

  • A record 4% said they'd used hallucinogens.

  • 29%, the most ever, said they had consumed more than five alcoholic drinks in a row in the past two weeks.

“Substance use is not limited to teens and young adults, and these data help us understand how people use drugs across the lifespan,” Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA director, said in a prepared statement. “Understanding these trends is a first step, and it is crucial that research continues to illuminate how substance use and related health impacts may change over time. We want to ensure that people from the earliest to the latest stages in adulthood are equipped with up-to-date knowledge to help inform decisions related to substance use.”

The Monitoring the Future study has surveyed substance use trends since 1975. It surveys students in grades 8, 10 and 12 every year. After 12th grade, survey participants are followed every other year through age 30. And after that, they're surveyed every five years.

The 2022 survey was conducted from April through October of that year.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Student: Record adult consumption of marijuana, hallucinogens, alcohol