The latest statistics provide no surprises. Almost all of the top marijuana-using states have already legalized pot in some form or have a legalization bill on the ballot for 2014. This is especially true for youth use rates.   Proof that where marijuana is legalised youth use escalates – and there is much research evidence that shows that marijuana is especially harmful for adolescents.  The evidence also shows that the younger a person is when they begin to use drugs they are statistically much more likely to become dependent and problem users.

 It is critical that we understand that only 7.3% of the population are current marijuana users, and yet the legalization of pot consumes the headlines and public debate around the country. Should massive changes in public policy, laws (and even state constitutions) be made in order to cater to the wishes of 7.3% of the population? This only makes sense if greed is the primary motive for doing so. 

 We need to help the general public understand that smoking pot is not the norm, that a relative few consume all of the pot being smuggled into and grown in the United States, and that there are serious consequences for surrendering to the drug culture. 

 Where Americans smoke marijuana the most 

Forget Colorado or Washington — tiny Rhode Island is the marijuana capital of the United States, at least as measured by the percent of state residents who regularly use marijuana.

Marijuana use by state

State-level statistics from the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health  show that just over 1 in 8 Rhode Island residents over age 12 smoke marijuana monthly. This is more than three times the rate in Kansas, where only 4 percent of residents regularly indulge.

Nationally about 7 percent of Americans over age 12 have used marijuana in the past month. Western states tend to have the highest rate of usage, at 9 percent, followed by the Northeast. The South has the lowest overall rate at 5.83 percent.

In what will surely not be a surprise to anyone who has ever been young, 18- to 25-year-olds use marijuana the most. Nearly 19 percent of that group has used marijuana in the past month, according to the NSDUH. But again, the state-to-state variation in those numbers are considerable. More than one third of Vermonters in that age bracket regularly use marijuana, compared to less than 10 percent of Utah’s 18- to 25-year-olds.

But usage rates drop off considerably for people age 26 and older: Only 5 percent of Americans in that age group smoke marijuana regularly. Alaska’s 26-and-over crowd is the most likely to regularly use marijuana, at 11.18 percent. To put it another way, Alaska’s adults are more likely to use marijuana than Utah’s college-age crowd.

Both Oregon and Alaska have marijuana legalization measures on their ballots this fall. Not coincidentally, these are the two states with the highest rates of 26-and-over marijuana use.

Source:  Comment from Monte Stiles to Drugwatch International   August 2014

Marijuana use in the past month (%), by age group and state 

Christopher Ingraham is a data journalist focusing primarily on issues of politics, policy and economics. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center. 

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/05/where-americans-smoke-marijuana-the-most 

 Source:  Comment from Monte Stiles to Drugwatch International   August 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/05/where-americans-smoke-marijuana-the-most