Survey: Marijuana use in U.S. adults doubles in decade

CHICAGO -- Marijuana use among U.S. adults doubled over a decade, rising to almost 10 percent or more than 22 million mostly recreational users, government surveys show.

The trend reflects a cultural shift and increasingly permissive views about the drug, the researchers say, noting other studies have shown increasing numbers of adults think marijuana should be legalized. Recreational use is permitted in four states.

Almost 1 in 3 users had signs of marijuana dependence or abuse, a slight decline from a decade ago.

The results come from a comparison of health surveys from 2001-02 and 2012-13 sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Almost 80,000 adults aged 18 and older participated in face-to-face interviews about various health-related behaviors.

Results were published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Participants were asked whether they had used marijuana in the past year, and about signs of problematic use.

Those include trying but being unable to reduce heavy use and continued use despite knowing it may be damaging health or causing depression or anxiety -- problems affecting about 6.8 million adults, the latest survey suggests.

Use increased among all ages but was most common in adults age 18-29.