A new study from the University of Michigan has shown that daily marijuana use among college students is higher today than it ever has been in the past 35 years. With new laws being passed that allow the use of recreational marijuana in multiple states, this statistic may not be alarming. What is shocking for most researchers, however, is that college students are into a lot more than just pot; the rates of ecstasy and cocaine use are steadily on the rise, as well.

The study compiled information from 1,500 college students around the country, enrolled full-time at two- and four-year institutions. While the total amount of alcohol consumption has decreased, the rate of drug consumption among college students has increased dramatically.

They found that daily marijuana use was reported by 6% of the studied college students. The use of ecstasy, also called MDMA or Molly, has seen a huge increase in recent years, as well, the study found. Over the past seven years, the use of ecstasy nearly doubled among college students. The use of cocaine has also shown a significant increase, from 2.7% in 2013 to 4.4% in 2014.

Researchers believe that some of the reason ecstasy and cocaine have seen such an upward interest is something called “generational forgetting”. This refers to the situation when a younger generation of kids hasn’t been directly exposed to the dangers and consequences of a particular drug, and they are curious about it. This often leaves to a new generation of people trying the drugs out, until they are affected themselves. 

Learn about drug and alcohol education programs for college students from 3rd Millennium Classrooms.