Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 100 million Americans aged 12 or older have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetimes, representing 40.6% of the U.S. population in that age group. The number of past year marijuana users in 2007 was approximately 25.1 million (10.1% of the population aged 12 or older) and the number of past month marijuana users was 14.4 million (5.8%).2

Among 12-17 year olds surveyed as part of the 2007 NSDUH, 6.7% reported past month marijuana use. Additional NSDUH results indicate that 16.4% of 18-25 year olds and 3.9% of those aged 26 or older reported past month use of marijuana.3

In 2007, there were 2.1 million persons who had used marijuana for the first time within the past 12 months; this averages to approximately 6,000 initiates per day. This estimate is similar to estimates from past NSDUH surveys dating back to 2002.4

A 2002 SAMHSA report, Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications, concludes that the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults. The report found that 62% of adults age 26 or older who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old reported that they had used cocaine in their lifetime. More than 9% reported they had used heroin and 53.9% reported non-medical use of psychotherapeutics. This compares to a 0.6% rate of lifetime use of cocaine, a 0.1% rate of lifetime use of heroin and a 5.1% rate of lifetime non-medical use of psychotherapeutics for those who never used marijuana. Increases in the likelihood of cocaine and heroin use and drug dependence are also apparent for those who initiate use of marijuana at any later age.5

Results of the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey indicate that 14.2% of eighth graders, 31.0% of tenth graders, and 41.8% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of marijuana. In 2006, these percentages were 15.7%, 31.8%, and 42.3%, respectively.6

Percent of Students Reporting Marijuana Use, 2006–2007

	8th Grade		10th Grade		12th Grade
	2006	2007	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	6.5%	5.7%	14.2%	14.2%	18.3%	18.8%
Past year	11.7	10.3	25.2	24.6	31.5	31.7
Lifetime	15.7	14.2	31.8	31.0	42.3	41.8

Approximately 74.3% of eighth graders, 64.5% of tenth graders, and 54.8% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2007 reported that smoking marijuana regularly was a "great risk."7

Percent of Students Reporting Risk of Using Marijuana, 2007

Say "great risk" to:	8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade
Try marijuana once/twice	32.8%	22.2%	18.6%
Smoke marijuana occasionally	50.2	35.6	27.1
Smoke marijuana regularly	74.3	64.5	54.8

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys high school students on several risk factors including drug and alcohol use. Results of the 2007 survey indicate that 38.1% of high school students reported using marijuana at some point in their lifetimes. Additional YRBSS results indicate that 19.7% of students surveyed in 2007 reported current (past month) use of marijuana.8

Percent of Students Reporting Marijuana Use, 2003–2007

	2003	2005	2007
Current use	22.4%	20.2%	19.7%
Lifetime use	40.2	38.4	38.1

Approximately 47.5% of college students and 56.7% of young adults (ages 19–28) surveyed in 2007 reported lifetime use of marijuana.9

Percent of College Students/Young Adults Using Marijuana, 2006–2007

	College Students		Young Adults
	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	16.7%	16.8%	15.7%	16.0%
Past year	30.2	31.8	27.7	28.5
Lifetime	46.9	47.5	56.7	56.7

According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 77.6% of State prisoners and 71.2% of Federal prisoners surveyed in 2004 indicated that they used marijuana/hashish at some point in their lives.10

Percent of Prisoners Reporting Marijuana Use, 1997 and 2004

	State Prisoners		Federal Prisoners
	1997	2004	1997	2004
At time of offense	15.1%	15.4%	10.8%	14.0%
In month before offense	39.2	40.3	30.4	36.2
Regularly*	58.3	59.0	46.6	53.0
Ever in lifetime	77.0	77.6	65.2	71.2
* Used drugs at least once a week for at least a month.

Top

Health Effects

Marijuana abuse is associated with many detrimental health effects. These effects can include respiratory illnesses, problems with learning and memory, increased heart rate, and impaired coordination. A number of studies have also shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction. Studies conducted on both people and animals suggest marijuana abuse can cause physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms may include irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving. 11

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. Marijuana has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.12

Marijuana's damage to short-term memory seems to occur because THC alters the way in which information is processed by the hippocampus, a brain area responsible for memory formation. In one study, researchers compared marijuana smoking and nonsmoking 12th-graders' scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills. Although all of the students had scored equally well in 4th grade, those who were heavy marijuana smokers, i.e., those who used marijuana seven or more times per week, scored significantly lower in 12th grade than nonsmokers. Another study of 129 college students found that among heavy users of marijuana critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours.13

Of an estimated 108 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2005, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,449,154 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that marijuana was involved in 242,200 ED visits.14

Top

Treatment

From 1996–2006, the number of admissions to treatment in which marijuana was the primary drug of abuse increased from 192,918 in 1996 to 289,988 in 2006. The marijuana admissions represented 11.7% of the total drug/alcohol admissions to treatment during 1996 and 16.1% of the treatment admissions in 2006. The average age of those admitted to treatment for marijuana during 2006 was 24 years. 15

Top

Arrests & Sentencing

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, there were an estimated total of 1,841,182 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United States during 2007. Of these drug abuse violation arrests, 5.3% were for the sale/manufacture of marijuana and 42.1% were for marijuana possession.16

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center there were 5,039 Federal marijuana-related arrests during 2006. This is down from the 5,599 such arrests during 2005.17

According to a 2004 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey of state and Federal prisoners, approximately 12.7% of state prisoners and 12.4% of Federal prisoners were serving time for a marijuana-related offense. This is a decrease from 1997 when the figures were 12.9% and 18.9%, respectively.18

During FY 2007, there were 6,299 Federal offenders sentenced for marijuana-related charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 96.9% of these cases involved trafficking and 2.5% of cases involved simple possession.19

Top

Production & Trafficking

The threat associated with marijuana trafficking and abuse is rising, which is largely the result of a growing demand for high-potency marijuana and a related increase in the drug's availability. An increase in domestic cannabis cultivation by drug trafficking organizations contributes to this threat, particularly the recent expansion of cultivation operations by Mexican, Asian and Cuban organizations.20

Most foreign-source marijuana smuggled into the United States enters through or between points of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. During 2006, 1,115,710 kilograms of marijuana were seized along the Southwest Border. Cannabis cultivation in Mexico remains high and most of the marijuana produced in that country is destined for U.S. drug markets.21

Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data indicate that a total of 5,231,658 marijuana plants were seized in the U.S. during 2006. This is up from 4,209,086 plants seized during 2005. The recent increases in cannabis cultivation and marijuana production within the United States coincide with the continued flow of marijuana from foreign sources, which may lead to market saturation in major markets. This saturation could reduce the price of the drug significantly.22

According to combined 2002, 2003 and 2004 NSDUH data, more than three fourths (78.2%) of the past year marijuana users aged 18 to 25 bought their most recently used marijuana from a friend. The majority (56.0%) of past year marijuana users aged 18 to 25 bought their most recently used marijuana inside a home, apartment or dormitory. 23

Top

Legislation

Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.24

In the case of United States v. Oakland Cannabis Club the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that marijuana has no medical value as determined by Congress. The opinion of the court stated that: "In the case of the Controlled Substances Act, the statute reflects a determination that marijuana has no medical benefits worthy of an exception outside the confines of a government-approved research project."25 The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court after the federal government sought an injunction in 1998 against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative and five other marijuana distributors in California.26

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling on May 24, 2002, upholding DEA's determination that marijuana must remain a schedule I controlled substance. The Court of Appeals rejected an appeal that contended that marijuana does not meet the legal criteria for classification in schedule I, the most restrictive schedule under the Controlled Substances Act.27

Top

Street Terms

"Grass," "pot," and "weed" are common street terms for marijuana.28 Other terms include:

Marijuana Street Terms

Term	Definition	Term	Definition
420	Marijuana use	Homegrown	Marijuana
BC bud	High-grade marijuana from Canada	Hydro	Marijuana grown in water (hydroponic)
Bud	Marijuana	Indo	Marijuana term from Northern CA
Chronic	Marijuana	Kind bud	High quality marijuana
Dope	Marijuana	Mary Jane	Marijuana
Ganja	Marijuana; term from Jamaica	Shake	Marijuana
Herb	Marijuana	Sinsemilla	Potent Marijuana

Top

Marijuana Facts & Figures

Overview

Extent of Use