We’re Doing Drugs – The New York Times

Good morning. America’s gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time yesterday. And Prince Harry and Meghan are moving back to Britain.

There’s plenty more news below. But first, I want to turn things over to my colleague Jodi Rudoren for a look at a new study about Americans’ use of cannabis.

High anxiety

For the last few years, I’ve been trying to develop a casual weed habit. Like many of my over-50 friends, I’d been finding that even a single ***tail or a glblock of wine with dinner gave me a headache the next morning. Plus, I prefer not to drink my calories. With marijuana now legal for recreational use in half the country, why not experiment?

I started with a vape but kept forgetting to use it. Then last summer I dabbled in THC seltzer — refreshing, low-cal and a nice little buzz. A couple of months ago, after a detailed consult at a dispensary, I walked away with a tincture for my arthritic feet, some gummies for play and other gummies for sleep. Those work — and don’t leave me groggy when I get up at 5 to go to the gym.

So it was distressing to learn yesterday that a growing number of Americans are developing cannabis use disorders — that’s health care speak for addiction or abuse. A national study found that 9 percent of American men and nearly 6 percent of women reported symptoms of the disorder in 2024, up from about 7 percent of men and 5 percent of women. Some people with the disorder can’t quit. Others can’t even cut back. And some keep doing the drug despite it hurting their relationships.

The main reason for the spike, experts say, is that a lot of weed now contains much higher doses of THC. “The notion that cannabis is not addictive may basically be incorrect,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the paper’s senior author. “The higher the content of the drug, the higher the risk for addiction.”

Usage: In 2024, 26 percent of men in the United States reported using cannabis, up from 22 percent in 2021. Among women, it was 21 percent in 2024, up from 18. It’s highest, unsurprisingly, among those ages 21 to 34 — 37 percent of those men and nearly 34 percent of the women report using marijuana in 2024. That still pales in comparison to alcohol — more than half of Americans drink at least occasionally.

Abusage: What’s alarming is that the rate of problematic use is higher than with alcohol. Of those who said they use cannabis, about 30 percent showed symptoms of the disorder; among the drinkers, it’s less than 20 percent. (Alcohol abuse is still a larger problem overall, affecting nearly 13 percent of men and 8 percent of women.)

My people: Women over 50 showed the biggest spike in cannabis use over the three years of the study — it jumped 40 percent between 2021 and 2024. (We’re still the lowest consumers of cannabis, though; about 13 percent reported using the drug. Just under 60 percent said they drink alcohol.)

Behind the numbers

I talked to Lori Leibovich, who runs our Well desk, about what this all means. The jump in use is no surprise, she said, given that cannabis has become legal in more places at the exact same time that scientists are finding more and more connections between drinking and deadly diseases like cancer. Some groups say there’s no safe amount of alcohol, Lori told me. Weed has also been linked to increased risk of stroke or heart attack, as well as memory loss, though studies also suggest it can reduce pain.

I know a lot of menopausal women reaching for gummies to relieve stress or help with sleep. We’re in that sandwich-generation moment, caring for aging parents and cranky teenagers alongside our careers and fitness regimens, and we can’t waste even an hour in the morning recovering from a hangover.

The problem, Lori pointed out, is that we have grown up believing marijuana is not addictive, because it’s natural. That may have been true back at Woodstock, but the weed that people are smoking or swallowing now is up to 15 times stronger. And while there are a lot of rehab programs for alcohol addiction, resources for cannabis crises are scarce.

Addiction, memory loss, stroke. Maybe it’s OK that I keep forgetting to use that vape.

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GAMES