It was only a matter of time…
Every year since 1980, the University of Michigan has taken it upon itself to survey college students across the country on their incessant drug use and outlandish party behavior in a little project they like to call "Monitoring the Future." Normally, the same trends of drug and cigarette use have popped up on the radar, but over the last seven to eight years, something has changed.
Students are putting down the tobacco and picking up the marijuana cigarettes. In fact, the percentage of daily and near-daily pot users from the 2014 survey is the highest ever recorded, and marks the first time regular weed consumption outpaces habitual cigarette use.
By contrast, 5 percent of respondents identified themselves as heavy cigarette smokers, a steep decline from the 19 percent who said they smoked daily in 1999.
Looks like the War On Drugs campaign isn't as successful as the TRUTH campaign — who would have thunk it?
So how much weed is being consumed by the future leaders of our country? Twenty-one percent of the college students surveyed say they had used the wacky tabacky at least once during the previous month, and thirty-four percent say they had used it in the past year.
Something tells us this percentage would rise dramatically if they surveyed Colorado students …
But what about the other party favors? Alcohol consumption, according to the report, has actually decreased with only 5 percent of respondents admitting to binge drinking. Really? 5 percent? How do you explain this?
And as for everybody's favorite Columbian friend, well, it's use is on the rise. The number of students reporting they had used cocaine in the previous year increased from 2.7 percent in 2013 to 4.4 percent in 2014. Researchers call the increase statistically significant, but say it's too soon to know if the drug is actually making a comeback on college campuses.
Overall, researchers are pleased to see the level of drug use on campus these days. Well, those weren't their exact words, but should parents be worried about illicit drug use, they can be rest assured it's going down in college. As for festivals, well, parents should be shitting their pants.
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