Weed smoking levels off in teens, study shows

Weed smoking among US teens has leveled off after four years of increases.

The government-funded study surveyed more than 46,000 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students from nearly 400 schools, said Z6Mag.

Thirty-six percent of high school seniors said they smoked pot at least once last year.

Bloomberg reported that those seniors using marijuana daily went from 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent last year.

Among high school seniors, about 23 percent say they smoked weed in the month before the survey with 36 percent saying they smoked that year.

For 10th graders those numbers were 3.5 percent daily, 17 percent in the month and 28 percent in past year.

The survey also found that attitudes among young people about pot use has become more liberal.

As kids got older their perceptions of the dangers of marijuana were reduced.

Between 8th graders and high school students, those believing that regular or occasional marijuana use was harmful was at its lowest level since 1979.

The study found that most illegal drugs did not show much change in use this year.

Bloomberg reported that 17 percent of seniors had tried a non-marijuana drug.

Experts said they were still concerned about daily marijuana use among young people.

"We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said Nora D. Volkow, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

More survey data can be found here.