Teen Marijuana Use Fell to Three-Decade Low by 2025
The share of U.S. teens using marijuana declined significantly, primarily driven by fewer students choosing to start.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Teens
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Do you believe the decline in teen marijuana use indicates a positive shift in community norms?
Adolescent marijuana use in the United States reached a three-decade low in 2025, with recent data showing a steady decline in usage rates among youth ages 12 to 17. The decrease is largely attributed to an increase in the number of teenagers who never begin using the drug.
Why it matters
This shift in behavior reflects a broader trend of declining substance use among youth, including alcohol and tobacco. Increased awareness of health risks among older students appears to correlate with these changing participation patterns.
Past-year marijuana use among 12 to 17-year-olds dropped to 8.7 percent in 2025, compared to 10.9 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, 39 percent of 12th graders perceived great risk from regular use in 2025, up from 30 percent in 2019.
The players
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The national public health agency responsible for tracking youth health behaviors and coordinating large-scale risk surveys.
Kaiser Permanente
A health care provider and research institution that analyzed longitudinal cannabis screenings among adolescents in Northern California.
The details
Researchers observed the trend by synthesizing data from the Monitoring the Future survey, the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The analysis reveals that 72 percent of the recent decline stems from teens abstaining from marijuana entirely, while 28 percent is due to existing users quitting. Regional data from Northern California indicates usage in teens aged 13 to 17 fell to 6.5 percent by late 2024, down from 9.5 percent pre-pandemic.
Timeline
Cannabis use among Northern California teens was 10 percent in 2011.
30 percent of 12th graders perceived great risk in 2019.
Non-initiation accounted for the majority of the decline from 2020-2025.
Northern California teen cannabis use reached 6.5 percent in 2024.
39 percent of 12th graders perceived great risk in 2025.
The Home Front
This decline follows the long-term usage trajectory established by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health over the past thirty years. It marks a departure from earlier decades when teen substance experimentation was more common.
Parents can initiate open discussions about substance use by focusing on current trends and the perceived risks identified by older students. Using these figures can help anchor conversations around the importance of healthy peer choices and delaying substance experimentation.
The takeaway
The sustained decrease in teen marijuana use is largely driven by a rise in non-initiation rather than just cessation. Families can monitor these trends to better understand the current social pressures and peer-group dynamics impacting their teenagers.
Further reading
For more on evolving youth behavioral trends, see our Teens resource section.
Live Poll
Do you believe the decline in teen marijuana use indicates a positive shift in community norms?
