Workers in the food service and accommodation industry have the highest rates of cannabis consumption, with 20.7% of workers using cannabis within 30 days. according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Public Health. Using data from the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 2016 to 2020, the researchers found cannabis use highest among food preparation and food service workers with 21.9% consuming cannabis within 30 days.
Individuals employed in the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry had the second-highest cannabis use rates at 17.5%, followed by construction workers at 15.9%.
Overall, the study found about 10.7% of U.S. workers reported using cannabis in the past 30 days – 13% of men reported cannabis use, compared with 8% of women. Individuals with college degrees (10.7%) had the lowest prevalence of cannabis use compared with workers without a high school degree (14.9%).
Nearly 24% of workers 18- to 20-year-old workers reported consuming cannabis in the last 30 days, while that rate was 3.2% among workers aged 65 years and older. The lowest prevalence was seen in workers self-reporting race as “Other, non-Hispanic,” while the highest prevalence was among participants self-reporting as “multi-racial, non-Hispanic.”
Among those reporting cannabis use, the most common method of consumption was smoking (72.3%), followed by edibles, (8.8%) and vaporizing (8.2%). The highest overall prevalence of consumption was in Rhode Island (16.0%), while the lowest was in North Dakota (7.3%).
The three industry groups with the lowest prevalence of cannabis use were management of companies and enterprises (5.4%); public administration (3.7%); and utilities (3.4%).
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