Should the U.S. Legalize Marijuana?

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Marijuana is the most common illegal drug used by the population, representing its popularity and strengthening the case for its legalization.  But how many people actually use the drug? When asked, only about 6 percent of Americans admitted to using the drug in the past month -- what the government calls “current” marijuana users. Half of all drug users use marijuana only, and one-quarter of drug users do not use it at all. In fact, 12 and 13 year olds use psychotherapeutics non-medically and inhalants at rates higher than they smoke marijuana; rates of marijuana use were highest for the young adult age group (18 to 25 years), with 17 percent using marijuana (SAMHSA 2004). Using a different, more school-specific survey, 7.5, 17, and 21.2 percent of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively, used marijuana in the past 30 days -- a significant drop from the mid-nineties, when drug use rates in almost every major category skyrocketed (Johnston et al 2004). Since 2001, 600,000 less youth in the U.S. have used drugs. The declining popularity of MDMA and LSD contributed to this drop, but marijuana use has also dropped significantly.

The number of marijuana users is far lower than the number of people using our two legal drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Fifty percent of all Americans report to be current drinkers (SAMHSA 2004). Among young people, the prevalence of current alcohol use in 2003 increased with age, from 2.9 percent at age 12 to about 70 percent of people aged 21 or 22 years old. Thirty percent of all Americans report to be current tobacco users (SAMHSA 2004). 14.4 percent of 12 to 17 year olds report to use tobacco; the rate is 45 percent for 18 to 25 year olds.

Even considering that self-reported data for marijuana use might undercount users, it is still a stretch to claim that “everybody is doing it” – a favorite catch phrase of those in favor of legalization. The evidence shows that far more people use our legal substances. Still, marijuana use is widespread among the illegal drugs, and one could hardly argue that current American policy on marijuana is perfect. It is not. But the serious advocate of public health and public safety would ask how we can make our existing policies work better before blindly walking into the uncertain territory of experimenting with legalization.