Characterizing Marijuana Use Disorders (DSM-5) — National Survey on Drug Use and Health, United States, 2020

In 2019, Marijuana Use Disorder (MUD) (DSM-IV) affected approximately 4.8 million (1.8%) Americans aged 12 and older. Given the continued evolving state-level marijuana/cannabis legislation, increased patterns of use in the general population, and nuances of diagnostic criteria (from DSM-IV to DSM-5) in a U.S. national survey, the objective of this study is to estimate and characterize individuals who met the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for MUD in the past year. Using public-use files from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), we examined sociodemographic and selected behavioral indicators associated with MUD. NSDUH participants (32,893 individuals) were weighted to the U.S. noninstitutionalized civilian population. The analytic sample included 2,151 unweighted individual respondents aged 12 years and older who met the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of MUD in the past year. We excluded 299 respondents from the analyses. Descriptive and logistic regression were applied. In 2020, approximately 13.9 million Americans aged 12 and older (5.0%) met the diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) of MUD, with 9.5 million individuals (3.4%) categorized as having MUD mild disorders (2–3 DSM-5 criteria). Our data showed differences in the percentage of MUD by sociodemographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, employment status, education level, health insurance, and health status) and selected behavioral health indicators (addiction, social environment, market/acquisition, treatment, substance use, and mental health-related questions). Logistic regression findings depict relevant comorbidities related to behavioral health (substance use and mental health). These results represent the most updated U.S. national baseline for MUD estimates. Our findings also confirm that the co-occurrence of substance use, and selected mental health conditions are common, prevalent, and correlated among individuals with MUD. Continued monitoring of MUD and other related behavioral indicators remains important, especially among youth and vulnerable ethnic groups.