VOA健康报道2024--美国日常吸食大麻人数首次超过日常饮酒人数

Daily Marijuana Use Greater than Daily Alcohol Use in US

For the first time, the number of Americans who use marijuana almost every day has grown greater than the number who drink alcohol almost every day.

This change, some 40 years in the making, comes as marijuana use has become more common and legal in nearly half of U.S. states.

In 2022, an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily. In comparison, 14.7 million people reported being daily or near-daily drinkers, an examination of national survey data shows.

In 1992, when daily pot use hit a low point, less than 1 million people said they used marijuana nearly every day.

Alcohol is still more widely used. But 2022 was the first time this high level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s writer, Jonathan Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University.

“A good 40 percent of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use,” Caulkins said.

The research, based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, appeared recently in the publication Addiction¹.

The survey is a highly regarded source of self-reported estimates of tobacco, alcohol and drug use in the United States.

From 1992 to 2022, the per capita rate of those reporting daily or near-daily marijuana use increased by 15 times. Caulkins suggested in the study that people may be more willing to report marijuana use as public acceptance grows.

Most states now permit medical or recreational marijuana, though it remains² illegal at the federal level. In November, Florida voters will decide on a constitutional change permitting recreational cannabis.

And the federal government is moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Research shows that high-frequency users are more likely to become addicted³ to marijuana, said Dr. David A. Gorelick of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Gorelick was not involved in the study.

The number of daily users suggests that more people are at risk for developing problematic cannabis use or addiction, Gorelick said.

“High frequency use also increases the risk of developing cannabis-associated psychosis,” a severe condition where a person loses touch with reality, he said.

Words in This Story

marijuana – n. the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp⁴ plant that are smoked as a drug

cannabis – n. a drug (such as marijuana) that comes from the hemp plant

pattern – n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done

recreational – adj. done for pleasure or enjoyment⁵

frequency – n. the number of times something happens

1 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

4 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

5 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。