A new study published in the Addiction journal is showing that cannabis use in the United States increased significantly from 2005 to 2017, and use is twice as common among individuals with depression.
The survey-based study involved 728,691 people over the age of 12 and focused on estimating trends in the prevalence of cannabis use and risk perceptions among Americans with and without depression.
According to the study, 38.6 percent of individuals with depression who did not perceive any risk with daily cannabis use had a much higher prevalence of use in the past 30 days than the 1.6 percent who associated significant risk with marijuana use.
“Perception of great risk associated with regular cannabis use was significantly lower among those with depression in 2017, compared with those without depression, and from 2005 to 2017 the perception of risk declined more rapidly among those with depression,” says corresponding author Renee Goodwin. “At the same time, the rate of increase in cannabis use has increased more rapidly among those with depression.”
The study revealed that the rate of cannabis use is particularly high in some groups with depression, such as the 18-25 group where 29.7 percent reported past 30-day use.
The prevalence of past-month cannabis use in 2017 was 8.7 percent among those without depression and 18.9 percent among those with depression.
Daily cannabis use among individuals without depression in 2017 was 2.9 percent and 6.7 percent among those with depression.
