About 6% of US Drivers Aged 16-20 Reported Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis, More Than Double the Rate for Alcohol
In a nationally representative US sample, 6.3% of drivers aged 16-20 reported driving after cannabis use, compared to 2.6% for alcohol, with nearly one in four past-year cannabis users (24.5%) reporting impaired driving.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
DUI-cannabis prevalence was 6.3% in the full sample and 24.5% among past-year cannabis users. DUI-alcohol was 2.6% overall and 6.1% among past-year alcohol consumers. Risk was elevated among older and male youth for both substances. More than one million young drivers per year are estimated to drive after using cannabis and/or alcohol.
Key Numbers
N=12,863 drivers ages 16-20. DUI-cannabis: 6.3% overall, 24.5% among users. DUI-alcohol: 2.6% overall, 6.1% among drinkers. Estimated 1+ million young DUI drivers per year.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional analysis of 2020-2021 NSDUH data for drivers ages 16-20 (N=12,863). Survey-adjusted prevalence estimates and logistic regression weighted for stratified cluster sampling.
Why This Research Matters
Cannabis-impaired driving among underage drivers is more than twice as prevalent as alcohol-impaired driving in this age group. This challenges the traditional focus on alcohol-impaired driving prevention among young people.
The Bigger Picture
The higher rate of cannabis DUI compared to alcohol DUI among young drivers reflects both the normalization of cannabis use and perhaps a lower perceived risk of driving while high compared to driving drunk. This perception gap may be especially dangerous.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Self-reported DUI likely underestimates true prevalence. Cross-sectional design. 2020-2021 data may reflect pandemic-related changes in driving patterns. Cannot assess actual impairment level or crash risk from survey data.
Questions This Raises
- ?Do young drivers perceive cannabis-impaired driving as less risky than alcohol-impaired driving?
- ?Would combining cannabis DUI education with alcohol DUI prevention programs be more effective?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Cannabis DUI is 2.4x more common than alcohol DUI among US drivers aged 16-20
- Evidence Grade:
- Nationally representative NSDUH data with appropriate survey weighting. Self-reported measure limits precision but provides reliable population estimates.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2023 using 2020-2021 NSDUH data.
- Original Title:
- Driving under the influence of cannabis and alcohol: Evidence from a national sample of young drivers.
- Published In:
- Addictive behaviors, 147, 107816 (2023)
- Authors:
- Salas-Wright, Christopher P(3), Hai, Audrey Hang(2), Vaughn, Michael G(3), Hodges, James C, Goings, Trenette Clark
- Database ID:
- RTHC-04905
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
How common is driving high among young people?
About 6.3% of all US drivers aged 16-20 reported driving after cannabis use, and among those who used cannabis in the past year, nearly 1 in 4 (24.5%) reported doing so.
Is cannabis DUI more common than alcohol DUI among teens?
Yes. In this national sample, cannabis DUI (6.3%) was more than twice as prevalent as alcohol DUI (2.6%) among 16-20 year old drivers.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-04905APA
Salas-Wright, Christopher P; Hai, Audrey Hang; Vaughn, Michael G; Hodges, James C; Goings, Trenette Clark. (2023). Driving under the influence of cannabis and alcohol: Evidence from a national sample of young drivers.. Addictive behaviors, 147, 107816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107816
MLA
Salas-Wright, Christopher P, et al. "Driving under the influence of cannabis and alcohol: Evidence from a national sample of young drivers.." Addictive behaviors, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107816
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Driving under the influence of cannabis and alcohol: Evidenc..." RTHC-04905. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/salas-wright-2023-driving-under-the-influence
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.