Over 8% of Australians report using marijuana recreationally, with nearly 3% saying they use it for medical reasons or both medical and recreational purposes, according to new national survey data.
Published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, the study examined responses from the 2022/2023 National Drug Strategy Household Survey to estimate the prevalence of different cannabis use motives in Australia.
According to the findings, 1% of Australians use marijuana solely for medical purposes, while 1.9% use it for both medical and recreational reasons. Recreational-only use remains significantly more common, reported by 8.6% of the population.
The study found that individuals experiencing chronic pain were over eight times more likely to use marijuana strictly for medical reasons and over five times more likely to use it for both medical and recreational purposes, compared to those using it recreationally. Those who typically obtained marijuana through a prescription were far more likely to report medical-only use than dual-use.
Meanwhile, more frequent users were more likely to report dual-use rather than recreational-only motives.
