New federal survey data undercut claims that adult-use legalization drives up teen marijuana use.
The 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released Monday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found 8.7 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds used marijuana in the past year, down from 14.2 percent in 2011, the year before the first states legalized recreational cannabis. Teen use has fallen even as adult use has climbed, contradicting warnings that legalization would drive up youth consumption.
Marijuana remained the most-used illicit drug, with 21.2 percent of people 12 and older—61.6 million people—reporting past-year use, up from 19 percent in 2021. Use was highest among 18-to-25-year-olds (33.7 percent), then adults 26 and up (20.6 percent).
Past-month use among people 12 and older rose from 13.2 percent (37.0 million) in 2021 to 15.1 percent (43.8 million) in 2025, driven by adults 26 and older. Past-month use among 12-to-17-year-olds fell from 6.1 percent (1.6 million) to 5.0 percent (1.3 million) over that span, and also declined among 18-to-25-year-olds.
Advocates say this favors regulated retail with ID checks over prohibition and illicit markets lacking age verification. SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll said in a press release that "building on encouraging trends first reported in the 2024 NSDUH, in 2025, adolescents aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 continued to show downward or stable trends in most behavioral health indicators over the past five years."
By method, smoking was most common (74.8 percent, 46.1 million), followed by edibles/drinks (49.2 percent, 30.3 million), vaping (39.2 percent, 24.2 million) and dabbing (14.5 percent, 8.9 million).
Other research points the same way: the Marijuana Policy Project found youth use fell in 19 of 21 legal states, averaging a 35 percent drop in early-adopter states, citing NIDA-backed Monitoring the Future data showing stable rates among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. CDC data show declining past-month use among high schoolers over the past decade. Canadian research found youth use fell post-legalization, with daily use holding steady for six years. A U.S. study found a "significant decrease" in youth use from 2011 to 2021, and JAMA-published research found no evidence legalization raises youth use. In 2023, a federal official said teen use hasn't risen despite legalization's spread.
