Just how popular is consuming marijuana in America?
A new federal survey suggests that 52.5 million Americans ages 12 and older, or about 20% of that age group, reported using cannabis at least once in 2021.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed the results for its 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health earlier this month.
“Harnessing the power of data and evidence is critical to ensuring policies and programs have the greatest opportunity to achieve positive outcomes," HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., the leader of SAMHSA said.
The data showed that 61.2 million people, or about 22% of the population used illicit drugs during the survey period and marijuana represented the most popular substance. Nearly 2 in 5 young adults 18 to 25 reported using illicit drugs in the past year, while 1 in 3 admitted to using marijuana.
More than 9 million people 12 and older abused opioids and 46.3 million people in that age range met the criteria for having a substance abuse problem. The majority of those people 29.5 million were classified as having an alcohol abuse disorder.
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What the Sales Data Says
Connecticut is gearing up to open its recreational cannabis industry this week with sales for those age 21 or older starting Tuesday, January 10.
The Nutmeg State is about to start on a journey nearly 20 other states and the District of Columbia have already begun, but as some states found out in 2022, the path forward on the marijuana trail isn't without its challenges.
In some states, like Illinois, the cannabis industry thriving.
Illinois saw a record high of more than $1.5 billion in legal marijuana sales in 2022, with December marking its strongest sales month ever.
The $1.55 billion the state brought in was more than 12% higher than 2021 and 131% higher than 2020, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said, according to Marijuana Moment.
But there are signs that growth is slowing, or even shrinking in other states.
Cannabis sales decreased 2.8% in November from October, according to sales data collected from 11 states by data analytics firm BDSA.
While states like Illinois saw growth, Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with medical-only cannabis industries, (though Maryland's retail industry is expected to come online this year) saw sales drop 13% and 6.9%, respectively, year over year, according to New Cannabis Ventures.
So while there is clearly a lot of money to be made in cannabis, as Illinois can attest, growing sales isn't such a sure thing in the cannabis industry.
Movement for Federal Legalization
Part of the beauty of the American legal system is that it can be used as the fulcrum to change laws when Congress is too slow to act.
School desegregation, gay marriage, and the right to have an abortion were all laws that were the result of Supreme Court rulings.
A lawsuit filed against Oregon Governor Kate Brown could help alleviate federal shipping laws that make interstate cannabis commerce illegal, according to MJBizDaily.
The lawsuit filed by Jefferson Packing House, a licensed distribution company in the state, is challenging a state law that prohibits operators licensed by the state from shipping marijuana across state lines on the grounds that such a ban is unconstitutional.
While there is support for the move in the state (in 2019, the governor signed law into legislation that would lift shipping prohibitions if there were changes to federal law) other states would also have to change there laws in order to accept products shipped from Oregon.
"We believe it is likely that a federal court will treat marijuana like hazelnuts and invalidate state laws prohibiting the export of marijuana notwithstanding the fact that it is illegal under federal law," the plaintiff's lawyers said in a letter, according to MJBizDaily.
