Minnesota's Department of Health released data Monday showing cannabis use among middle and high school students is at its lowest point in more than a decade, contradicting predictions from legalization opponents.
The findings come from the Minnesota Student Survey, conducted every three years among students in grades 5, 8, 9, and 11. "There continues to be a steady decline in youth cannabis use since 2013, with 96% of students reporting not having used cannabis in the last month," the department said.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed a bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota in 2023, and this is the first survey cycle since adults 21 and older gained legal access. Self-reported past-year use among 8th, 9th, and 11th graders fell 57.7 percent statewide from 2013 to 2025. More students now view weekly marijuana use as moderately to greatly harmful, reversing a trend from 2013 to 2022. Students estimated 54% of peers used cannabis, while 92% reported never having used it.
Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham flagged one concern: "Despite positive trends, the student survey—indicates that some of our children are encountering cannabis at young ages. We need talk to our children about cannabis before they encounter it because we know the potential harms that early use can bring to their developing brains, mental health and futures."
Minnesota's findings are consistent with research from other jurisdictions. A federally funded Canadian study found youth marijuana use rates declined after the country legalized cannabis, and German officials reported concerns about youth use and traffic safety were largely unfounded. U.S. federal health data attributed the recent rise in overall cannabis use to adults 26 and older, while rates among adolescents and young adults held stable between 2021 and 2024. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) found youth use declined in 19 of 21 states that legalized adult-use marijuana, down an average of 35 percent in the earliest legalizing states. A CDC survey, a separate U.S. study, and a federal report respectively documented declining high-school past-month use over the past decade, a "significant decrease" from 2011 to 2021, and a slight drop in use among those aged 12 to 20 between 2022 and 2023. Two JAMA studies—a 2024 research letter and a separate analysis—found neither legalization nor retail store openings increased youth cannabis use. A 2023 U.S. health official said teen use had not risen "even as state legalization has proliferated across the country."
