According to the National Survey on Drug Use, annual marijuana use by Americans age 12 and up in2012 rose to 7.3 percent, about .3 percentage points higher than in 2011 and 1.5 percentage points higher than in 2007.
The test was compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from surveys given to about 70,000 people aged 12 and up.
In total, about 24 million Americans – roughly 9.2 percent of the population – use illicit drugs annually. That includes cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and the illegal use of prescription drugs. According to researchers, marijuana is the most widely-used of those illegal drugs.
The study supports another study released last week by the University of Washington showing that cannabis is the most popular drug in the world. The University of Washing study also showed that cannabis is the least lethal, noting that prescription drugs kill about 78,000 people each year across the world.
Unfortunately, cannabis use isn’t the only thing on the rise. According to the National Survey on Drug Use, heroin use is rising steadily with an 80 percent increase in users over the last five years. In 2012, some 669,000 people reported using heroin.
“This finding show that while we have made progress in preventing some aspects of substance abuse, we must redouble our efforts to reduce and eliminate all forms of it throughout our nation,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said in the report. “These statistics represent real people, families and communities dealing with the devastating consequences of abuse and addiction.”
Keep in mind that this is a government-funded study on addiction, though. Not to downplay serious addictions to things like prescription drugs and heroin, but these people are basically being paid to prove that there is an addiction problem in this country to ensure that they remain employed.
The findings were released Wednesday morning at a press conference kicking off National Recovery Month.