The number of adults who use marijuana and have developed marijuana use disorders has more than doubled between 2001 and 2013, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry and covered by Reuters Health.
Between 2001 and 2002, roughly 4 percent of adults had reported using marijuana in the past year, a number that has increased to 10 percent between 2012 and 2013. Likewise, 1.5 percent of adults reported having marijuana abuse or dependence problems between 2001 and 2002, whereas 3 percent of adults (equivalent to roughly 7 million Americans) report having the same disorder between 2012 and 2013.
The researchers added that studies have tied marijuana use to mental health issues, poor quality of life, use of other drugs and withdrawal after heavy use, though many adults don't see the substance as risky.
"Counteracting the perceptions that [marijuana] is harmless with a balanced message about the potential harms is important," Deborah Hasin, PhD, the study's lead author from Columbia University in New York, told Reuters Health. "For researchers, I think it's important to find what characteristics put people at risk."
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