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High-potency cannabis linked to mental health risks, expert warns
Marc Siegel explains.Siegel highlights how increased THC levels contribute to addiction and adverse mental health effects, particularly in developing brains.He emphasizes that claims of cannabis helping with anxiety and depression are often bogus, leading to increased ER visits.
Marijuana is officially leading the pack for the most-useddaily drugamong Americans.
New data from the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), reveals that there are 21.4 million daily or near-dailymarijuana usersin the U.S.
This surpasses the 19.9 million people who smoke cigarettes and the 17.2 million who consume alcohol.
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The annual federal survey of Americans age 12 and older defines daily or near-daily use as consuming marijuana on 300 or more days in the past year.Daily cigarette smokers were characterized as those who smoked on all 30 days of the past month.
The number of Americans using marijuana daily or almost daily rose about 21% between 2022 and 2025.(iStock)
The number of Americans using marijuana daily or almost daily rose about 21% between 2022 and 2025 — from 17.7 million to approximately 21.4 million.This amounts to an increase of about 3.7 million frequent users.
The biggest jump occurred between 2021 and 2022 with an increase of roughly 2.8 million users, according to SAMSHA.
This pattern in highermarijuana useis driven mostly by adults, particularly those age 26 and older, rather than teenagers.
Between 2021 and 2025, the number of adults 18 and older using marijuana daily or almost daily increased about 22%, from 17.2 million to 20.9 million.
Although marijuana is now the most commonly used substance on a daily or near-daily basis,alcoholremains the most widely used substance overall.During the previous month, about 129 million people drank alcohol while 43.8 million used marijuana.
General marijuana use rose from 13.2% to 15.1% from 2021 to 2025.(iStock)
Cigarette and broader tobacco product use has been on a decline, decreasing from 20.1% of Americans in 2021 to 15.9% in 2025.Meanwhile, general marijuana use rose from 13.2% to 15.1% during that same period.
A recent report by San Francisco-based workplacemental healthplatform Modern Health found a concerning increase in the number of workers turning to substances to manage stress, especially THC and marijuana products.
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The survey of 1,000 full-time employees in April 2026 found that 63% of the workforce engages in at least one form of self-medication after the workday, while 52% have self-medicated during the workday.
Gen Zis the only generation of workers where THC use exceeded alcohol use after work – 59% report using marijuana products compared to 50% who drink alcohol.In that group, 51% reported using THC during the workday.
A survey of 1,000 full-time employees in April 2026 found that 63% of the workforce engages in at least one form of self-medication after the workday.(iStock)
Marc Siegel said the SAMHSA data reflects a “very disturbing trend.”
“Too much attention has been put on the bogus or exaggerated uses of marijuana for pain, insomnia andanxiety, when in fact it increases anxiety exponentially, especially in those with underlying mental health issues,�
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“Too little attention has been paid to the growing THC content in all cannabis products, which makes it far more dangerous in terms of mental performance, judgement, memory and allforms of impairment.”
THC has been associated with a growing share of fatal motor vehicle crashes, Siegel said, arguing that increased acceptance of marijuana use is “feeding a dangerous trend.”
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