A new study found that since Colorado leagalized marijuana it has become the state with the second-highest number of users. Washington is the state with the most marajuana users.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted between 2012 and 2013, one out of every eight residents in Colorado admitted to using marijuana in the previous month. The study is the first to look at marijuana usage since its use was legalized in 2012, the Denver Post reported.
The number of marijuana users was at 10.4 percent prior to the legalization but climbed to 12.7 percent after the announcement. Overall, about 530,000 of Colorado residents are into pot and consume it at least once a month.
The data presented by the researchers does not include daily usage, which they believe has also increased. The researchers clarified that a further study is needed to establish if it was the marijuana legalization that caused the surge of users.
"This is not surprising, given what's going on on the medical side," Mark Kleiman, a University of California-Los Angeles professor who studies marijuana policy, told the Denver Post. "I don't think this tells us about the long-term impacts of legalization."
Aside from the increase in marijuana users, researchers also observed an upward trend in alcohol and illegal drug use. They haven't looked at the 2014 data yet, but are predicting that the usage rate will be even higher now that recreational marijuana shops are open, according to the Denver Post.
The trend is not just limited to Colorado though, as nationwide use of marijuana also climbed from 7 percent to 12 percent.
