Salt Lake City, UT: High-schoolers, on average, are waiting longer before trying cannabis for the first time, according to data published in the journal Health Education & Behavior.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of Utah assessed trends in high-schoolers’ first exposure to cannabis for the years between 1991 and 2017. Investigators reported "an increasing trend from 1991 to 1997 in the prevalence of marijuana use before the age of 15." By contrast, authors reported a downturn in this trend from 1997 through 2017.
Authors concluded that overall, "the mean age of first marijuana use increased significantly between 1991 and 2017." Specifically, "the prevalence of marijuana use before the age of 15 years has decreased since 1999 in the whole population. The decreasing prevalence of marijuana before the age of 15 years is potentially beneficial for public health given that early exposure to marijuana is associated with a number of negative outcomes."
Full text of the study, "A trend analysis of age of first marijuana use among high school students in the United States from 1991 to 2017," appears in Health Education & Behavior.