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Researchers are sounding the alarm on the continued high use of marijuana by the nation’s eighth, 10th and 12th graders — along with a drop in perceptions of its potential harm.
Consider these key findings of the recently released Monitoring the Future study:
- 6.5 percent of high school seniors smoke marijuana daily and nearly
- 23 percent say they smoked it in the month prior to the survey.
- 41.7 percent of eighth graders see occasional marijuana use as harmful and 66.9 percent see regular use as harmful — both the lowest rates since the survey began tracking data in 1991.
In a summary press release, the study’s principal investigator, University of Michigan Professor Lloyd Johnston stated, “The nation’s teenage drug problems are far from disappearing. We continue to see a number of new drugs coming onto the scene, like synthetic marijuana and ‘bath
salts.'”
Experts agree that now, perhaps more than ever, we need parents and other adult influencers to step up and have direct conversations with young people about the importance of making healthy decisions.
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