Indopedia All Things Marijuana
More young people are turning to marijuana as their first substance of choice, rather than smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. This pattern is especially prevalent among young men of specific racial and ethnic groups in the US, says Brian Fairman of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the US, in Springer’s journal Prevention Science. He says that young people who start off on marijuana before alcohol or tobacco are more likely to become heavy users and have cannabis-related problems later in life.
The research team analyzed nationally-representative, cross-sectional survey data available as part of the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This data draws on information from more than 275,500 individuals aged 12 to 21 and was collected between 2004 and 2014. Survey respondents were asked about their use of marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol, and other forms of tobacco or illegal drugs. Those who used these substances provided further information about which they…
