Marijuana being a psychoactive drug is bound to impede normal brain processes linked to memory and thoughts. In an exhaustive survey of secondary school students in the US conducted by experts at the University of Michigan, it has been disclosed that the number of teens using marijuana apparently continued to rise, while consumption of alcohol seemed to have reached record lows.
According to the Monitoring the Future Survey report, marijuana use among teens elevated for the fourth consecutive year in 2011. The consumption of this drug is reported to be at a 30-year peak level presently. Artificial marijuana also known by the name K2 and spice was also included in the study with about 1 in 9 high school seniors resorting to this drug since the last 12 months.
The year 2011 saw teens succumbing to historically low proportions of alcohol, especially with regards to cases of severe drinking. Moreover, energy drinks were opted by nearly one third of teens, with the highest rates amidst younger teens.
“Put another way, one in every fifteen high school seniors today is smoking pot on a daily or near daily basis. And that’s the highest rate that we have seen over the past thirty years—since 1981,” commented Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the study.
Almost 47,000 students ranging from eighth to twelfth grade were inspected in the analysis. The investigators believed that one of the prime reasons for the acute rise of marijuana use among children was the belief that even regular use of this drug may do no harm.
The findings will be published in the forthcoming volume of, ‘Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2011.’