Study: College Kids Use Marijuana Instead of Dangerous Drugs

A study by Monitoring the Future shows that college students are using marijuana instead of dangerous drugs like painkillers and ecstasy. The study shows a slight decline in marijuana use among college students between 2014 and 2015. In 2014, roughly 5.9 percent of college students admit to using marijuana regularly, in 2015, that number was 4.6 percent.

Lloyd Johnson, principal study investigator, said, “It appears that college students, at least, are hearing and heeding the warnings about the very considerable dangers of using narcotic drugs,” told SF Gate

Although college students are using marijuana, their use of opioids, ecstasy, and other dangerous narcotics has decreased. Results of the study also show that baby boomers use more prescription narcotics and harder drugs, while younger adults appear to be much cleaner. More than 70 percent of adults over age 50 admit to using illegal drugs in their lifetime.

Johnson also stated, “The proportion of Americans in their 40s and 50s who have experience with illicit drugs is quite shocking.”