Teens are using marijuana less, but girls are now outpacing boys, a new study has found

Teen marijuana use has declined over the past decade, but new research shows girls are using it more than boys.

A recent study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University published in Pediatric Reportsshows that despite fears that state-level marijuana legalization in the U.S. could lead to an increase in adolescent marijuana use, use is actually decreasing. However, the study also notes that girls now outnumber boys in using marijuana.

The study analyzes trends in marijuana use among US adolescents from 2011 to 2021 using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey among high school students in grades 9 through 12.

What the study shows

Overall, this included a total sample of 88,183 US high school students who provided self-reports of marijuana use.

During this time, marijuana use among teenagers has decreased significantly.

The percentage of teens who had ever tried marijuana decreased from 39.9% in 2011 to 27.8% in 2021, and the percentage of college students who reported using marijuana in the past 30 days decreased from 23.1% to 15 .8%.

The percentage of students who used marijuana for the first time before the age of 13 also decreased.

This decline shows that fewer teens are using marijuana, which is a positive thing, the study’s authors say, given the problems associated with marijuana use during this developmental period.

The study found that trends in marijuana use depend on demographics such as race, education level, and gender.

Among racial groups, black adolescents reported the most marijuana use, while Asian adolescents reported the least.

“This finding is consistent with previous research indicating that minority groups, particularly black adolescents, may perceive fewer risks associated with marijuana use, which may contribute to higher rates of use,” the study said.

The rate of marijuana use increased with each grade, reaching the highest level among 12th graders.

“While we found a net decrease in the percentage of student marijuana use between 2011 and 2021 for all grades, high school grades showed consistently higher rates of marijuana use across all years, particularly among 12th graders,” the authors note.

The most notable trend is that by 2021, girls were more likely to use marijuana than boys, reversing the previous trend in 2011, when boys were more likely to use marijuana.

“This change is consistent with previous reports of a narrowing of the gender gap in substance use,” the study said. Researchers believe that the rise in marijuana use among girls can be explained by changing social dynamics, including more integrated friend groups where girls may be more likely to be offered marijuana by male peers.

The researchers noted that despite overall declines in teen marijuana use, certain groups, particularly older teens and black teens, continue to have relatively high rates of use.

That’s why they suggest that culturally adapted interventions, together with prevention in schools and families, can maintain this decline, as well as eliminate specific differences between these groups.

In particular, the authors of this study noted that there is a need for continued public health efforts to reduce marijuana use among adolescents, especially now that marijuana is becoming more acceptable due to its legalization. For researchers, greater availability may mean that teens will have greater access to marijuana and perhaps more accepting perceptions of its safety.

Limitations of this study

As the author of this study points out, their findings have several limitations.

First, it is self-reported and may introduce biases such as social desirability and recall errors, which may reduce the accuracy of reported marijuana use. In addition, the cross-sectional design of the study will not allow inferring a causal relationship from the observed trends and contributing factors.

The study also does not include information on important contextual details, such as the frequency and intensity of marijuana use, nor does it account for variations in state legalization of marijuana, which may affect adolescent behavior differently in different regions.

Although the sample at this level is nationally representative, the experiences of adolescents who do not attend traditional schools may not be generalizable.

Finally, this study did not account for other confounding influences, such as socioeconomic status and peer influence—suggesting that studies of adolescent marijuana use should be conducted using longitudinal studies to understand trends.

Trends in marijuana use among adolescents

This study reflects a trend where, despite declining use over the past 10 years, marijuana remains popular among teenagers.

This seems to be true among young people as well, as confirmed by a Gallup Report 2022 found that teenagers are less interested in cigarettes, opting instead for vape or marijuana. Cigarette smoking among youth has fallen from 35% to 12% over the past two decades, while marijuana use has more than doubled, with 26% reporting use between 2019 and 2022, up from 17% between 2013 and 2015.

Marijuana use among teenagers has also increased dramatically. 2021 study discovered this use doubled from 6.1% between 2013 and 2016 to 13.6% between 2019 and 2020. In this study, researchers attribute this growth to easy access to vaping devices, appealing flavors, and social media advertising.

Finally, teens are also turning to less regulated alternatives to marijuana, such as delta-8 THC productsand a recent study found that 11.4% of high school students reported using them in the past year.