Study: College Binge Drinking Down, Pot Use Up in Legalized States

It doesn’t take extensive research to know that some college students smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, but a recently published study shows students are turning to the plant over booze in states where weed is legal.

Conducted by Oregon State University, the study concludes that states where marijuana was legalized by 2018, including Colorado, had a rise in occasional and frequent pot use by college students, who were 18 percent more likely to have used marijuana in the past thirty days than in states where marijuana is still illegal.

“Since we work in a state where recreational marijuana is legal, we saw a lot of changes over time such as dispensaries popping up,” says OSU doctoral candidate Zoe Alley, who helped lead the study. “And with all this change, we were curious to see how this affects college students.”

According to Alley, when college students reach legal drinking age, they tend to use alcohol more than any other substance. But in states where marijuana is legal, there’s a trend of turning to smoking rather than drinking.

“The barrier to access of alcohol is gone once you turn 21,” she explains. “People who would’ve started binge drinking once turning the legal age start using marijuana instead.” [Read more at Westword]