Teen Marijuana Use

Teen marijuana use in King County has declined in recent years.

 

The safety of marijuana is not well established, and there are potential health risks and harms associated with its use, which is illegal for those under the age of 21. Research shows that marijuana use can have long-term effects on the developing brain when use begins in adolescence, especially with regular or heavy use.

 

In 2023, 8.0% of King County teens in grades 8, 10 and 12 had used marijuana in the last 30 days.   

  • Trends: The percentage of teens in King County who used marijuana rose from 2006 to 2012 and has been declining since then. While not definitively related, the decline follows a policy change in 2012 which legalized recreational marijuana use for adults ages 21 and older in Washington, and in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020. While current marijuana use among teens in 2023 (8.0%) was the lowest rate ever measured in King County, this issue should be monitored closely as teens have experienced many changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation strategies.    

 

  • Race and ethnicity: Asian teens (2.8%) and Middle Eastern/North African teens (3.5%) were less likely than the county average to use marijuana, although disaggregated data shows some differences in teen marijuana use by Asian ethnic group. Teens identifying as Chinese, Cambodian/Khmer, Indian or Vietnamese had marijuana use rates lower than the county average.  However, teens identifying as Filipino (8.0%), Korean (5.2%), or Japanese (7.4%) had marijuana use rates similar to the county average.  

  • Grade level: Marijuana use increased with grade level, from 2.3% among 8th graders, 6.3% among 10th graders and up to 14.6% among 12th graders.     

  • Sexual orientation: Teens who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB+) had higher rates of marijuana use (12.7%) than the King County average and than teens who identified as heterosexual (7.1%).    

  • Gender: Transgender teens (12.8%) had higher rates of marijuana use than the King County average. 

  • Region: Teens in Seattle (13.0%) were more likely to have used marijuana than the East, South, and North regions of King County.    

Additional data is available here on teen alcohol and illegal drug use.   

 

Notes & Sources

Source: Healthy Youth Survey. Unless otherwise noted, data are from 2021-2023. 

Every 2 years, Washington public school students in 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grades students answer questions about safety and violence, physical activity and diet, alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, and related risk and protective factors. To learn more about the survey, please go to https://www.doh.wa.gov/DataandStatisticalReports/DataSystems/HealthyYouthSurvey

To learn more about the Healthy Youth Survey and view the data biography, click here.

Further resources on marijuana use:  

Youth Marijuana Prevention Program: https://www.kingcounty.gov/youthmarijuana  

King County Health and Human Services priorities regarding marijuana legalization: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/marijuana-health/legalization.aspx  

Cannabis Health Effects (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/index.html 

 

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