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Emergency medical responses involving suspected marijuana-related incidents declined at a significant rate across the United States between January 2024 and June 2026, according to a new federally funded report analyzing nearly 170,000 encounters.
The six-page report, published October 23 by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS), examined 169,468 emergency medical services (EMS) encounters involving marijuana over the 30-month period. Researchers identified a statistically significant national downward trend, with monthly encounters declining from roughly 6,000 in early 2024 to approximately 5,100 by June 2026.
The decline was statistically significant at the national level, with similar findings across three of the country’s four major geographic regions.
The South accounted for the largest number of encounters, with 74,270, followed by the West with 39,421, the Midwest with 28,840 and the Northeast with 26,937.
Researchers found statistically significant declines throughout the study period in the South, West and Midwest. The South experienced the steepest sustained decline among those three regions, according to the statistical analysis.
The Northeast followed a somewhat different pattern. Marijuana-related EMS encounters declined significantly between January 2024 and January 2025, but researchers found no statistically significant change from January 2025 through June 2026.
The report also examined counties with the highest rates of suspected marijuana-related EMS encounters relative to population. Among the areas highlighted were Onondaga County, New York, with 54.6 encounters per 10,000 residents; Menominee County, Wisconsin, with 50.6; Bent County, Colorado, with 39.2; and Swain County, North Carolina, with 31.7.
To conduct the analysis, researchers examined EMS records containing documented references to marijuana in patient complaints or incident narratives. They used statistical modeling to identify changes in monthly encounter trends, including whether declines were statistically significant.
The findings come with several limitations. The figures represent suspected marijuana-related incidents rather than cases confirmed through toxicological testing, and the presence of marijuana in an EMS record does not necessarily establish that it caused the medical emergency. The dataset also excludes hospital outcomes, while reporting coverage varies considerably between states.
Despite those limitations, the analysis provides evidence of a sustained decline in recorded marijuana-related emergency medical responses during the study period, rather than an increase.
NDEWS is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, with participating researchers and institutions including the University of Florida, NYU Langone Health and Florida Atlantic University. The report uses emergency response data provided by biospatial.io.
