Nearly one in ten first-year college students at a mid-Atlantic university have a cannabis use disorder (CUD), according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded study of drug use conducted by Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) investigators.

First-year students attending new student orientation were randomly selected to participate in a multiyear follow-up study. Overall, 9.4% of first-year students met the clinical definition for cannabis abuse (5.4%) and/or dependence (4.0%).

Nearly one-fourth (24.6%) of past-year cannabis users and more than one-third (38.4%) of “at-risk” users (those who had used cannabis five or more times in the past year) met the criteria for a CUD.

However, “even in the absence of a disorder, users appear to be at risk for potentially serious cannabis-related problems.” Students who had used cannabis five or more times in the past year -- regardless of whether they met the criteria for a CUD -- reported problems related to their cannabis use, such as concentration problems (40.1%), regularly putting themselves in physical danger (24.3%), and driving after using marijuana (18.6%; see figure below).

Forthcoming research from this study will examine the relationship between cannabis use and GPA over time.

For details, including data charts, source information and caveats, download the PDF.

Reprinted from CESAR Fax, a weekly, one-page overview of timely substance abuse trends or issues, from The Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) at the University of Maryland.