Marijuana, hallucinogenics use in 2021 hit record high among young adults, report

Marijuana and hallucinogenics use reached a record high last year among young adults, according to the results of a new National Institutes of Health study.

The findings come from the agency's roughly 47-year-old Monitoring the Future panel, which found the rate of marijuana use among 18- to 30-year-olds reached 43% in 2021, according to The Hill newspaper.

The rate is reportedly the highest observed since 1988 when marijuana trends were first monitored.

Eight percent of those in the same age range reported using hallucinogens within the past year. Though the percentage is  relatively small, it represents the highest rate of use recorded by the MTF, the newspaper also reports.

The types of hallucinogens that young adults reported using included LSD, MDMA, PCP, peyote and mushrooms. And MDMA was the only one that decreased significantly in use.

"As the drug landscape shifts over time, this data provides a window into the substances and patterns of use favored by young adults," said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The study also found a significant increase last year in the rate of nicotine vaping, despite a decline in use in the earlier stages of the pandemic – up 16%, nearly triple the rate first observed in 2017.

Marijuana vaping similarly rebounded in use following a dip in early 2020, sitting at 12% in 2021, also according to The Hill.