College kids drink less, but marijuana smokes more

Young adults do not drink as much as they used to. In fact, recent research shows that more than a quarter do not drink alcohol at all.

That’s good news for your health. However, there are drawbacks to the data. alcohol Use is declining between the ages of 18 and 22, and marijuana use is on the rise.Number of Young adult The use of both alcohol and marijuana is also increasing, raising concerns about the future surge in substance abuse problems. New research shows..

I Professor of Psychology He has been studying drug use in young adults and adolescents for over 15 years at Texas State University. My main concern is how substance use changes between adolescence and young adulthood. It’s a time of great change. 13 years old is very different from 25 years old in almost every respect.

I work with colleagues at the University of Michigan, the University of Central Florida, and Iowa State University to study trends in alcohol and marijuana use in young adults to better understand how their use changes with age. .. The latest numbers provide both hope and concern.

Gen Z breaks stereotypes

There is a reason for the stereotypes of young adults who drink and use substances, as evidenced by photos and videos of bar and college parties.But with the investigation Our analysis It suggests that drinking drinking is not as common as people believe.

Use data from Annual National Survey on Drug Use and HealthIn 2018, we found that about 30% of adults aged 18-22 years did not drink alcoholic beverages once a year, compared to less than a quarter of 2002. Over 60% did not use marijuana at all. ..

Between the ages of 18 and 25, the number of reported drinkings in the previous year decreased from 39% in 2015 to 34% in 2019. This may be influenced, at least in part, by the beliefs formed in high school.According to another survey, nearly three-quarters of high school students Friends will be disapproved The rate of drinking on weekends has increased from just over half in the early 1980s.

Adolescents (usually 12 to 17 years old) were more likely to avoid both alcohol and marijuana than they were 20 years ago. This is part of the declining trend of adolescent drug use and dangerous behavior found in various national surveys and data sources. .. In 2019, nearly 80% of adolescents did not use alcohol at all the previous year, compared to 65% in 2002. 87% did not use marijuana.

Use both marijuana and alcohol

The bad news is that the number of young adults in college who said they used marijuana at least once in the previous year increased from 33% to 37%.

The majority who said they used marijuana also used alcohol.An increase in young adults using both Was the result For young adults who have used alcohol to consume marijuana.

This increase in both alcohol and marijuana use is an important warning sign. This is because the young adults in that group also had a much higher rate of other illegal activities. Drug useMisuse of prescription drugs, including drugs like opioids and benzodiazepines, like cocaine.

This may indicate that more people will need substance abuse treatment in the coming years.

Why change?

One theory for changing trends with alcohol Use of marijuana It means that substance use in adolescence now begins at a later age.

The data confirms this. Although the number of adolescents who start using alcohol has declined slightly, many adult college students are using alcohol and marijuana for the first time. The reason for the change is not very clear, but one theory is that adolescents have been engaged in virtual contact rather than face-to-face contact in recent years and rarely use matter when they are alone. about it.

Regulatory changes can also have an impact.Marijuana is now increasingly legal for medical or recreational use Number of states..

Attitudes towards alcohol and marijuana have also changed over the years, especially for marijuana.

The· Monitor the future Studies tracking substance use in adolescents and young adults since 1975 show both a sharp decline in marijuana disapproval in the mid- and mid-term. high school Decreased students and how they perceive marijuana to be harmful.In fact, more young people in that age group are now feeling more harm on a regular basis. Use of alcohol Rather than disapproving marijuana.

How a pandemic changes adolescents’ habits with alcohol Marijuana It’s not clear yet. In a survey conducted this spring when many restaurants and bars closed, Adults over the age of 30 drank 14% more alcohol.. But when Australian researchers targeted Gen Z young adults, they found another story. Older people may be drinking more, but bars and restaurants are closed and College crowd reported less drinking..

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