Cannabis Use Is Sending More Young People To The Emergency Room, New Study Reveals

A New CDC Study Shows Cannabis Use Is Sending More Young People To The Emergency Departments

Over the past few years, marijuana use has been landing more young people in the hospital, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Published on Thursday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the report analyzed nearly 540,000 cases nationwide where people under 25 years old wound up in a hospital due to complications from cannabis use.

From 2019 to 2022, the researchers found that cannabis-related emergency department visits increased overall among kids, teens, and young adults.

 

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Over the study period, the researchers also noted large increases in cannabis-related ED visits among kids less than ten years old. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans over 12 years old used cannabis in 2021, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

Studies show that marijuana users across the board are more likely to visit an emergency department or be hospitalized. For teens or young adults with a mood disorder, marijuana use puts them at an increased risk of self-harm, suicide attempts and death.

Using data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, the report looked at instances in the years before and during the Covid-19 pandemic where kids and young adults landed in emergency departments due to marijuana use.

Average weekly visits for young people were higher across the board between 2020 and 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, peaking in the second half of the 2020-2021 school year. Those levels remained high throughout 2022.