Legalization has not caused the big jump in teen marijuana use that many predicted: national surveys show teen use is near its lowest level in decades, and the largest studies find little or no increase in adolescent use after states legalize for adults. In the 2025 Monitoring the Future survey, 8% of 8th graders, 16% of 10th graders and 26% of 12th graders said they had used cannabis in the past year. One 2024 meta-analysis did find a modest rise in odds of use after recreational legalization, mostly among young adults, so the question is not fully closed.
This page started in 2011 as a news item on the annual Monitoring the Future survey, which back then found high school seniors were more likely to have smoked marijuana in the past month than cigarettes. Since then, 24 states have legalized adult use, and the fear that legal stores would hook a generation of teenagers has been tested in the data. This update pulls together the latest survey numbers through the 2025 school year and the best research on legalization’s effects.
Teen Marijuana Use Statistics: The Latest Numbers
Monitoring the Future, run by the University of Michigan with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse since 1975, surveyed 23,726 students at 270 schools from February to June 2025.
| Past-year use, 2025 | 8th grade | 10th grade | 12th grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis (any form) | 8% | 16% | 26% |
| Hemp-derived THC (delta-8 and similar) | 2% | 6% | 9% |
| Alcohol | 11% | 24% | 41% |
| Nicotine vaping | 9% | 14% | 20% |
Cannabis use was statistically unchanged from 2024 in every grade. The 2024 figures were 7.2%, 15.9% and 25.8%, and the 12th-grade number had dropped from 29.0% in 2023, according to NIDA’s 2024 release. Teen drug use fell sharply between 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic disrupted schools, social lives and supply, and it has stayed near that low-water mark since.
Two other details stand out. First, alcohol is still more common than cannabis among teens. Second, vaping has become a major way teens use cannabis: in 2024, 17.6% of seniors said they had vaped cannabis in the past year.
Does Legalization Increase Teen Marijuana Use?
This is the question behind most searches, and researchers have studied it heavily. The best-designed studies compare states before and after legalization against states that did not change their laws.
Studies finding no increase
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, 1993 to 2021. Using national and state surveys of more than 1.5 million high school students, economists found no evidence that recreational laws increased teen marijuana use, and some state-level estimates pointed to small decreases (Anderson et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2024).
- 898,271 students in 47 states, 2011 to 2021. A Boston College team found recreational legalization was not associated with more teen cannabis use and was linked to small drops in teen alcohol use, with no significant overall effect from the opening of retail stores (Coley et al., JAMA Pediatrics, 2024).
- An earlier meta-analysis. A 2019 review of 41 studies found that decriminalization and medical laws did not change youth use, and that recreational laws might bring a very small increase, but the highest-quality studies showed no change (Melchior et al., BMJ Open).
Studies finding a modest increase
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 30 studies found that medical cannabis laws had no effect on past-month youth use, but recreational laws were linked to modestly higher odds of past-month use. In more recent studies the odds rose about 9% for adolescents and 22% for young adults (Pawar et al., Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). The authors called the effects “complex and heterogeneous.”
What the evidence adds up to
Put together, the research shows no surge in teen use after legalization, and if there is an effect on adolescents it is small. The clearer increases show up among young adults. Legal-market rules matter too: age-21 limits enforced with ID checks, limits on advertising, child-resistant packaging and dose caps on edibles are all designed to keep cannabis away from minors. In Washington, for example, stores must check ID at the door and edibles are capped at 10 mg of THC per serving.
Evidence at a Glance
| Claim | Evidence level | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Recreational legalization causes a large rise in teen use | Not supported | Anderson 2024; Coley 2024 |
| Recreational legalization raises odds of youth use modestly | Mixed; stronger for young adults than teens | Pawar 2024 |
| Medical cannabis laws increase teen use | Not supported | Pawar 2024; Melchior 2019 |
| Starting young raises the risk of problem cannabis use | Substantial | National Academies, 2017 |
| Frequent use is linked to psychosis and schizophrenia | Substantial (association) | National Academies, 2017 |
| Accidental edible poisonings in young children have risen | Strong (poison center data) | Tweet et al., Pediatrics, 2023 |
Why Teen Cannabis Use Is Riskier Than Adult Use
- The developing brain. The brain keeps developing until about age 25, and the CDC warns that cannabis use in adolescence can affect attention, memory and learning.
- Addiction risk. A 2020 meta-analysis estimated that about one in three young people who use cannabis weekly or daily develop dependence (Leung et al.). The National Academies found substantial evidence that starting young and using frequently are risk factors for problem use. Our guide to marijuana addiction covers warning signs.
- Psychosis. Heavy use in adolescence and early adulthood is associated with higher rates of schizophrenia, particularly with high-potency products. A Danish study of nearly 7 million people estimated that about one-fifth of schizophrenia cases among young men could be prevented by avoiding cannabis use disorder, if the link is causal. Read more in our cannabis and schizophrenia review.
- Potency. The average THC content of seized cannabis rose from about 4% in 1995 to about 16% in 2022, and some dispensary products exceed 40% THC, according to NIDA, a very different product from what many parents remember.
- School and driving. Cannabis slows reaction time, and teens are already the least experienced drivers. See our report on driving high.
The Bigger Risk at Home: Young Children and Edibles
While teen use has stayed flat, accidental poisonings of young children have soared. Poison centers logged 207 edible cannabis exposures in children under 6 in 2017 and 3,054 in 2021, and nearly 23% of all cases from 2017 to 2021 were admitted to the hospital. Nearly all happened at home. Store edibles in a locked box, in the original child-resistant package, out of sight. If a child eats cannabis, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if the child is very drowsy or has trouble breathing.
Talk to Your Doctor, and Your Kids
Parents worried about a teen’s cannabis use can start with the child’s pediatrician or family doctor, who can screen for cannabis use disorder and for the anxiety, depression or sleep problems that sometimes drive it. Teens who use daily, use alone, or cannot cut back should be evaluated. In Washington, the free Recovery Help Line at 866-789-1511 can point families to youth treatment. When you talk with your teen, stick to facts: explain that the legal age is 21 for good reasons tied to brain development, not because cannabis is uniquely evil. Our gateway theory review explains what the evidence does and does not show about cannabis leading to other drugs.
Teen Marijuana Use FAQ
What percentage of teens use marijuana?
In 2025, 8% of 8th graders, 16% of 10th graders and 26% of 12th graders reported using cannabis in the past year, according to Monitoring the Future.
Has teen marijuana use gone up since legalization?
No large increase has appeared. National surveys show teen use near decades-long lows, and major studies find little or no rise in adolescent use after states legalize, though one meta-analysis found a modest increase.
Is teen marijuana use increasing or decreasing?
It is flat to slightly lower. Use dropped sharply in 2021 and has stayed near that level, with 12th-grade past-year use falling from 29.0% in 2023 to about 26% in 2024 and 2025.
Do more teens use marijuana or alcohol?
Alcohol. In 2025, 41% of high school seniors drank in the past year, compared with 26% who used cannabis.
Why is marijuana bad for teenagers?
The brain develops until about 25, and teen use is linked to problems with memory and attention, a higher risk of addiction and, with heavy use, psychosis.
Do medical marijuana laws increase teen use?
No. A 2024 meta-analysis found no association between medical cannabis laws and past-month youth cannabis use.
For adults 21+ in legal states. General information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before using cannabis for a health condition.
