Overview
- A JAMA Psychiatry analysis of 186,823 adults using National Survey on Drug Use and Health data found past‑year cannabis use disorder rose between 2021 and 2024 for men (7.3% to 9.3%) and women (4.5% to 5.6%).
- The share of adults with moderate‑to‑severe cannabis use disorder also increased, with the largest gains seen in ages 21–34, 35–49 and 50 and older.
- Authors estimated the number of U.S. adults with cannabis use disorder grew from about 15.3 million in 2021 to roughly 19.4 million in 2024.
- The study contrasts that alcohol use disorder rates stayed largely stable over the same period and points to wider legal access and higher‑THC commercial products as partial drivers.
- Researchers and public‑health experts say clinicians should screen routinely for problematic cannabis use and that federal and state systems need more treatment capacity and better evidence on effective therapies.