Girls have outshined boys in using marijuana in the United States: Study

In a new study, researchers have found that there has been a decline in the use of marijuana among teens, however, girls have been using it more in comparison to boys. 

The researchers from Florida Atlantic University published the new research in Pediatric Reports which showed that even though there have been growing concerns about the usage of marijuana increasing among teens after its legalisation in the US, it has actually decreased. 

The study, however, noted that girls have surpassed boys in the consumption of marijuana. 

In the study, researchers analysed the trend of marijuana use among US teens from 2011 to 2021 with the use of data collected from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of students from grades 9 to 12.

The study included a total sample of 88,183 US high school students who submitted their self-reports on their marijuana use.

In the time duration studied, the use of marijuana among teens was seen to have a significant decline.

The number of teens who had tried marijuana saw a decrease from 39.9 per cent in 2011 to 27.8 per cent in 2021 and the percentage of students who had reported marijuana use in the last 30 days fell from 23.1 per cent to 15.8 per cent.

There was also a decrease in the percentage of students who had used marijuana for the first time before the age of 13. 

Overall the study shows that fewer teens were using marijuana.

“This finding aligns with previous research indicating that minority groups, particularly Black adolescents, may perceive lower risks associated with marijuana use, which could contribute to higher usage rates,” read the study.

An increase was noticed in the rate of marijuana use with each grade level which reached its highest rate among students of class 12.

“While we found a net decline in the percentage of marijuana use among students between 2011 and 2021 for all grade levels, there was consistently higher usage for older grades throughout all years, especially among 12th graders,” the authors stated.

The new trend which was seen in the study was girls were using marijuana more than boys by 2021. “This change is consistent with earlier reports suggesting a narrowing of the gender gap in substance use,” stated the study. 

(With inputs from agencies)