For both men and women, cannabis use disorder (CUD) is on the rise, according to a peer-reviewed study analyzing data from almost 187,000 participants from 2021 to 2024.
The Epoch Times reports that for men 18 years of age and older, “past-year CUD prevalence rose from 7.3 to 9.3 percent between the four years, paralleling cannabis use rising from 22.2 percent to 25.7 percent during this period.” For women, CUD prevalence rose from 4.5 to 5.6% and usage rose from 17.7 to 21.2%.
Those figures are based on the general population, but CUD prevalence is even more concentrated among past-year cannabis users. Based on data from 2024, the CUD prevalence rate was 36.2% among males and 26.6% among females.
The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, argues that “findings repudiate conventional assumptions that cannabis carries a low addiction risk and that most young adults with CUD have mild symptoms.”
Use among certain segments of Gen Z is particularly striking. About 30% of both males and females ages 18-20 reported using cannabis in the past year as of 2024, and 50% of that population had CUD.
The Epoch Times noted that “CUD is linked to negative cognitive, psychosocial, and physical outcomes, including violence, suicidality, and schizophrenia, especially among young men, according to the study. And while moderate-to-severe cases of cannabis use disorder have been rising, treatment rates have declined alongside an expansion in cannabis legislation amid increasing perceived benefits.”
For readers wondering about cannabis for medical reasons, the study concluded that “medically recommended cannabis does not present any reduced risk of moderate-to-severe CUD compared to nonmedical use of the substance.”
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