Cannabis consumption remains prevalent among medical students across the globe, according to new research published by the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry.
The study, conducted by researchers from Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the National Center for Innovation and Research in Mental Health, reviewed 109 observational studies published between 1971 and 2025. Together, these studies included data from 62,444 participants in 32 countries.
Findings show that 29.2% of medical students reported lifetime cannabis use, 20.5% reported use in the past year, 9.2% in the past month, and 5.1% in the past week. Rates varied considerably by region, with the highest prevalence in Anglo-Saxon America at 59.7% and the lowest in Asia at 11.5%.
While cannabis use declined among medical students from 38.4% in the 1970s to 18.1% in the 2000s, prevalence has increased again in recent years, reaching 30.4% in the 2020s. Researchers attribute this rise largely to trends in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
The authors conclude that while cannabis use among medical students has fluctuated over time, it remains widespread and is once again on the rise.
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