In an effort to better understand marijuana usage among younger generations, the Colorado Department of Transportation examined how Gen Z interacted with the substance in 2024.
The survey from CDOT examined 944 randomly selected Colorado drivers who were 18 to 24 years old. The department found that those in the age range were twice as likely to consume cannabis compared to their older counterparts.
According to the data collected by the agency, Gen Z is also more than twice as likely to drive while high. Approximately 20% of those surveyed said they had driven within two hours of using cannabis at least once within the last month.
Among older drivers in Colorado, that number was 7%, the Department of Transportation reported.
When it comes to why younger adults are more inclined to use cannabis more or do activities like driving while high, the report highlighted an interview one 25-year-old Denver woman offered.
“Cannabis has been legal my whole adult life,” she told CDOT. “My friends and I prefer marijuana to alcohol — times have changed.”
While she acknowledged the dangers of driving high, she noted that not everyone in her generation feels the same as stigmas around using cannabis continue to go out the window.
When respondents were asked if they thought they could drive safely while under the influence of cannabis, 17% of those ages 25-34 said yes, which was less than half of those in Gen Z who agreed (37%).
Darrell Lingk, the director of the Office of Transportation Safety and Risk Management, shared in the report that efforts to educate users on safe cannabis consumption practices have broadened as new demographics begin using the substance.
“Cultural norms are constantly changing as well. We have data, but we also need to understand the human component to increase safe driving behaviors and decrease cannabis-involved crashes and fatalities on our roadways,” Lingk said.
Colorado was the first state in the country to legalize marijuana for recreational use, meaning it offers the largest sample size for how Americans consume the substance. Still, in the years since, 23 other states have joined Colorado, legalizing the substance recreationally in some manner.