Rockville, MD: The percentage of people admitted to substance abuse programs for their use of cannabis has declined steadily in recent years, according to data provided by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
According to a recently published federal report, the percentage of people entering treatment primarily for cannabis use fell approximately 20 percent between 2020 and 2024, the last year for which data is available. By contrast, the percentage of individuals admitted for alcohol abuse rose every year during this period.
Overall, more than one-third of those in treatment are there for alcohol, whereas fewer than nine percent are admitted for cannabis-related issues.
According to the report, cannabis-related treatment admissions are most prevalent in states where marijuana possession remains illegal, such as Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. In these jurisdictions, judges often offer defendants the choice of attending a substance abuse treatment program in lieu of jail time. By contrast, cannabis-related treatment admissions are typically lowest in adult-use legalization states such as Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
In total, some 1.6 million Americans were admitted to substance abuse treatment services in 2024. Over two-thirds of those admitted were males, and most were between the ages of 21 and 44. Approximately one-quarter of admission referrals came via the criminal justice system.
Full text of the report, “Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2024: Admissions to and Discharges from Substance Abuse Treatment Services Reported by Single State Agencies,” is available from SAMHSA.