In the United States, cannabis use among high school students has reached an all-time low

While the The legalization of cannabis has gradually spread across the United States, teenage consumption is not following the trajectory feared by some opponents of these reforms. According to the latest federal data, the proportion of American high school students who use cannabis has reached its lowest level ever recorded in this survey.

The results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2025, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicate that 12.9% among U.S. high school students report having used cannabis at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey.

In 2011, this proportion still stood at 23.1 per cent. In other words, this indicator has fallen by approximately 44 per cent over fourteen years, even though many countries have, during this period, established a legal cannabis market for adults.

A continuing decline among American teenagers

The decline is not limited to a comparison with the early 2010s. During the previous release of CDC data, in 2023, 17% for high school students reported having used cannabis in the past month.

Another indicator shows a similar trend. The proportion of students who have used cannabis at least once in their lives has risen from From 39.9% in 2011 to 25.5% in 2025.

These results come amid a period of profound transformation in the U.S. cannabis policies. The first states approved the legalization of adult use in 2012, and since then, the number of jurisdictions with a regulated market has expanded significantly.

However, the CDC’s data alone are not sufficient to establish that legalization is the cause of the observed decline. They do show, however, that the expansion of adult cannabis legalization has not been accompanied, at the national level, by an increase in use among high school students.

Several federal investigations point to a similar trend

The CDC's data are not an isolated case. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2025, published in July, estimates that 8.7% for 12- to 17-year-olds had used cannabis during the previous year. In 2011, the figure was 14.2 %.

Program Results Monitoring the Future, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), also point in this direction. Its latest edition indicated that cannabis use among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students had remained generally stable, despite ongoing legislative reforms in several states.

Other scientific studies published in recent years have sought to measure the potential effects of legislative changes more directly. One study published in 2024 In particular, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found no evidence of an increase in cannabis use among young people following the enactment of laws authorizing and regulating cannabis for adults, confirming a 2017 study from the same institute.

The link between legalization and youth use continues to be closely examined

For organizations that support reform, these data call into question the notion that the creation of legal markets for adults would automatically lead to an increase in consumption among minors.

«Sensationalist claims that laws legalizing adult cannabis use are linked to an increase in use among teenagers are simply not supported by reliable data,» said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, in remarks reported by Marijuana Moment. «These government findings should reassure lawmakers that access to cannabis can be regulated legally, safely, and effectively, without having unintended consequences on young people’s habits.»

A analysis of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) had also found a decline in consumption among young people in 19 of the 21 states studied that had legalized adult use, with an average decrease of 35% in the first states to do so.

From Similar observations have been reported in Canada, where research conducted after federal legalization, but also by the provinces, did not reveal the widespread increase in consumption among young people that had been anticipated by some prior to the reform.

However, the new US data do not resolve all questions regarding the effects of legalisation, particularly on individual behaviour or frequent use. They do, however, add further evidence to a finding now supported by several studies: despite the rapid expansion of legal cannabis markets in the United States, self-reported consumption among teenagers has not increased at a national level and currently stands at historically low levels.