Opponents and proponents of legalizing marijuana have disputed for a long time whether outlawing or decriminalizing the drug would lead to an increase in youth use. Despite the fact that recreational cannabis use grew by 20% in places where it was legalized, the judgment may still be out on who is correct.
Twenty-one states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized the sale, use, and manufacture of marijuana; twenty-seven states have decriminalized it; and study statistics indicate a growth in cannabis usage on college campuses across the country, despite a fall in alcohol consumption.
Recent research on the prevalence of marijuana usage on college campuses in Texas revealed that nearly 40 percent of students use the drug and more than 26 percent have used it on campus. The study was undertaken by a doctorate candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.
Utilized data from the UT Austin Tobacco Research Assessment Team and questioned 14,000 college students from 19 universities in Texas. The survey found that students who vape marijuana are 2.35 times more likely to use it in a public area on campus outside of a dorm.
Caroline North, a doctorate student at UT Austin who co-conducted the study with Alexandra Loukas, associate dean of research and graduate studies, stated, “My research has focused on understanding the junction between vaping and marijuana as vaping devices have grown more prevalent.”
The findings of the study indicate that marijuana use is prevalent on college campuses and that the ability to vape marijuana could promote consumption in public spaces such as classrooms and libraries. According to North, schools and universities frequently emphasize drug-use prohibitions on campus, but they do not attempt to prevent them.
North stated, “I was specifically interested in determining whether or not college students consume marijuana on campus so that universities, particularly those in Texas, may better inform their efforts based on what students are doing.”
Other universities have taken measures to combat the spread of cannabis, such as St. Peter’s University, a Jesuit college in New Jersey. Which filed a lawsuit in August to prevent a marijuana dispensary and lounge from operating near a new residence hall.
As more states legalize marijuana, other colleges and universities, including Colorado State University at Pueblo, are developing courses and programs to prepare students for careers in the cannabis market and the drug’s science.
Green Flower 2020, a cannabis education corporation based in California, collaborated with Syracuse University to develop the cannabis studies curriculum. Certificates are available in cannabis law and policy, business, health and medicine, and agribusiness and horticulture.
John Schulenberg, a professor of developmental psychology and a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, stated in a press release that the university’s annual tracking of substance use among young adults ages 19 to 22 revealed an 8 percent increase in the continued and increasing daily use of marijuana from 1980 to 2020.
The information is presented in the report for 2020 Monitoring the Future poll. “We know from our research and those of others that extensive marijuana usage is connected with college dropout and low academic performance among college students,” Schulenburg stated in the announcement.
In 2020, the prevalence of daily marijuana usage among college students reached a historic high of 44 percent, according to a survey. In a press statement, Schulenberg stated, “Daily marijuana use is a clear health concern.” As noted by the Surgeon General and others, the brain is still maturing in the early 20s, and scientific data suggests that heavy marijuana use can be damaging to cognitive performance and mental health.
Studies have revealed that the more frequently college students use cannabis, the lower their GPA, the more classes they miss, and the longer it takes them to graduate. In addition, Schulenburg predicted that by the year 2020, approximately one in twelve college students would consume marijuana daily.
In a press release, he stated, “The landscape of cannabis usage is shifting, necessitating ongoing research into the harmful repercussions of high use.” According to North, a doctorate student at the University of Texas, there is a paucity of recent studies addressing marijuana use practices on college campuses.
She stated that the purpose of her study is to notify Texas college administrators of the prevalence of marijuana usage on college campuses so they can develop preventative strategies to combat it. “No one has really tried to understand if students are using on college campuses, what they’re using, and where they’re using it,” North said. “This may really help campuses educate students about their attempts to decrease and prevent student use.”
