By THE ALASKA STORY
Aug. 22, 2026 – Marijuana is no longer an occasional indulgence confined to the fringes of American culture.
New federal data show that daily or near-daily marijuana use has surpassed similarly frequent cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, while a separate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report points to a serious and still widely misunderstood medical consequence of heavy cannabis use.
Taken together, the reports offer a revealing snapshot of a changing society: Marijuana use is increasingly routine, particularly among younger adults, even as hospitals encounter more patients suffering from severe vomiting associated with frequent use.
An estimated 21.4 million Americans age 12 and older used marijuana daily or almost daily in 2025, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released July 27.
That exceeded the approximately 19.9 million Americans who smoked cigarettes with comparable frequency and the 17.2 million who drank alcohol daily or nearly daily.
Alcohol remains far more widely consumed overall. But the frequency of cannabis use increasingly resembles the pattern traditionally associated with cigarettes rather than social drinking.
The survey found that approximately 61.6 million Americans used marijuana during the previous year. Marijuana use was most common among young adults ages 18 to 25, 33.7% of whom reported using it during 2025. The rate among people age 26 or older was 20.6%.
The findings were followed Aug. 6 by a CDC report on cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, commonly called CHS.
CHS is associated with prolonged and frequent cannabis use and causes recurring attacks of severe nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Patients can become dehydrated and frequently seek emergency treatment. Symptoms typically resolve only when cannabis use stops, although the CDC noted that the condition has resulted in death in rare cases.
The CDC identified 199,565 emergency-department visits involving CHS between January 2023 and May 2026, using information from thousands of hospitals participating in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program.
The highest rate was found among patients ages 15 to 24.
After a new diagnosis code specifically for CHS took effect Oct. 1, 2025, identified cases rose sharply. CHS was recorded in 11.26 of every 10,000 emergency-room visits that October, rising to 13.10 per 10,000 by May 2026—an increase of approximately 16%.
But the CDC cautioned against treating that increase as proof that the underlying condition suddenly became 16% more common. Much of the increase likely resulted from doctors having a specific code for CHS and becoming better able to recognize a condition that had previously been classified as ordinary vomiting or cyclical vomiting syndrome.
Over the first eight months under the new code, the average rate of identified CHS visits was 3.7 times the average measured before its introduction. The abrupt increase, the CDC said, probably reflects improved recognition and coding as well as the possibility that earlier figures substantially underestimated the condition’s actual prevalence.
The demographic findings are particularly significant for Alaska. Before the coding change, American Indian and Alaska Native patients had the highest average CHS-related emergency-visit rate among the racial groups included in the report, at 4.33 per 10,000 visits.
From October 2025 through May 2026, the recorded rate among American Indian and Alaska Native patients was 15.14 per 10,000 visits. That was higher than the rates among White, Hispanic, Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander patients, although lower than the 17.60 rate recorded among Black patients.
Young people were affected most heavily. Among patients ages 15 to 24, CHS was identified in an average of 38.70 per 10,000 emergency visits under the new coding system. The rate was 28.28 among those ages 25 to 34, 15.89 among patients ages 35 to 44 and just 3.49 among those 45 and older.
Those numbers come as other surveys describe a generation wrestling with anxiety, depression, digital dependency and fear about its economic future.
A Harmony Healthcare IT survey of 1,010 Americans ages 18 to 28 found that 46% had been diagnosed with a mental-health condition and another 37% believed they had an undiagnosed condition. Thirty-four percent said they were taking prescription mental-health medication, and 19% reported using non-prescribed substances, including cannabis, to manage symptoms.
The survey found anxiety was the most common diagnosis, followed by depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Social-media comparison was most frequently identified as a negative influence on the generation’s mental health, followed by uncertainty about the future or career stability and the poor economy.
Seventy-eight percent said they had felt addicted to their phones or social media, while 65% said they did not feel financially stable.
A separate 2026 Northwestern Mutual study, conducted by the Harris Poll among 4,375 adults, found that 72% of Gen Z respondents had postponed at least one major life milestone because of financial pressures.
Seventy-one percent feared they might never be able to afford at least one such milestone. Thirty-four percent questioned whether they would ever be able to purchase a home, 20% worried that they could never afford children and 14% expressed the same concern about marriage. Nearly half were pessimistic about the effect artificial intelligence could have on their careers.
The evidence shows several overlapping trends: heavy cannabis use is becoming more common, many young adults report using substances to cope with mental distress, and hospitals are recognizing serious cannabis-related illness more frequently.
The CDC also noted that marijuana products have grown substantially more potent. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the chemical that produces marijuana’s intoxicating effect. Although researchers have not directly established that higher THC levels cause CHS, high-potency products are associated with more frequent use, and frequent use is the syndrome’s principal risk factor.
Vaping and “dabbing,” in which users inhale highly concentrated THC oils, can deliver doses far beyond those found in the marijuana of previous generations.
6 thoughts on “Marijuana’s new place in American culture comes with a rising health cost”
Cannabis over-use is mostly a Democrat thing. The Democrats pushed hard to get it legalized in most states. Marijuana consumption also produces wrinkles, saggy body, and rapid mental decline. Just look at older Democrats. The chemicals in marijuana have crippled Democrats. Most of them look 15 to 20 years older than their biological age. Dried out skin. Lazy from marijuana’s result use in lethargy. And most heavy users have become bumbling idiots. Our great country is in rapid decline, largely because of heavy marijuana and drug (prescription too) use.
Dr., although no science studies to back you up, your viewpoint is nevertheless a great observation. The Democrats I know do look older for their age. Some even look like death warmed over.
Yes Dr. Dan, I see what you mean. Barack Obama, Natalie Portman, and George Clooney have all aged terribly. But RFK Jr. doesn’t look a day over 95! Thanks for your meaningful commentary.
RFK still has a highly functional brain. Your heros ……well, not so much. Obama looks too old to pick up any younger men. Clooney is a deranged idiot. So Damon, are you a heavy user too?. Hope you have good health care and folks looking after you. It ain’t going to get any better for you, buddy.
Try smoking Camel non-filters. Less chemicals.
The devils lettuce ought never have been co opted by the state and harnessed for taxation purposes. Vice should never be mainstreamed (looking at you too gambling). It ought to have decriminalized in small quantities: grown and used for personal use. It ought to be illegal to use in public, near children and to possess in large quantities (to keep the cartels out).
As it stands the ubiquity is terrible for kids and for society. Though not a “hard drug” it is not a “free” drug. It has costs.
All the above is true. But…….
As my close friend who has over 40 years as a Firefighter told me, not one time did he go to a domestic dispute where people were high on pot.
Booze and Hard Drugs were the choice of the Husband beating the wife scenario’s. ( 30% of the time it is the wife beating the husband. Tool of choice is a 9” cast iron skillet.)
Not defending booze, hard drugs, or pot. Society’s always going to have a vice. So it comes down to the lesser of the evils.