Cannabis use among American parents rose substantially between 2012 and 2024, raising concerns about impairment, accidental ingestion and children’s exposure at home. Researchers estimated that at least 5.9 million U.S. children lived with a parent who used marijuana on most days in 2024.

By 2024, 8% of parents reported using cannabis on most days, while 5.2% used it daily. Another 6.7% met the criteria for cannabis use disorder, also known as CUD.

Daily cannabis use among parents was approximately four times as common as daily alcohol use, according to the study. The increase reached nearly every demographic group examined by researchers.

Some of the largest increases appeared among younger and unmarried parents, people living in lower income households and those without a four year college degree. The findings were published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, analyzed information from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The data involved nearly 482,000 U.S. individuals ages 12 and older.

Dr. Jarid Pachter, a physician specializing in family medicine and addiction medicine at Stony Brook Medicine in New York, was not involved in the study. He warned that growing social acceptance could obscure the potential dangers associated with marijuana.

“Marijuana has become so socially acceptable that people are starting to overlook the risks,” Pachter told Fox News Digital. “Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's harmless.”

Pachter also raised concerns about the example regular cannabis use may set for children. He pointed to studies showing that children whose parents use marijuana are more likely to use it themselves when they get older, while emphasizing that the association does not prove parental use causes later use by children.

The physician said THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, is known to affect attention, memory, coordination and reaction time. Those effects could become particularly concerning when an adult is responsible for responding to the needs and safety of young children.

“When you have young children, you need to be alert and able to respond to their needs,” he said. “I'm not suggesting that someone who uses marijuana can't be a good parent. My concern is about being impaired when you're responsible for a child's safety.”

Accidental ingestion presents another danger, particularly when marijuana is sold in edible products such as gummies or chocolate. These products can resemble ordinary candy and may be especially difficult for a young child to recognize as containing cannabis.

Pachter said emergency room visits involving children who accidentally consume marijuana have increased significantly. He said some children develop severe sedation, confusion and difficulty walking, while more serious cases can involve breathing problems and hospitalization.

Frequent marijuana use also raises the risk of developing cannabis use disorder, according to Pachter. He said frequent consumption, particularly involving products with high THC potency, is associated with an increased risk of certain psychiatric problems among susceptible individuals.

Smoking marijuana around children may create another route of exposure. Pachter said marijuana smoke contains many of the same harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke, and children can be exposed to THC through secondhand smoke, although the long term health effects are still being studied.

For people who use marijuana every day, Pachter recommended considering whether they can stop and whether cannabis is affecting their work, relationships or responsibilities. Parents should also examine whether their use interferes with their ability to care for their children.

The study did not assess parenting quality or children’s health, and its findings do not establish that parental cannabis use causes harmful outcomes for children. The data also relied on self reported substance use, leaving open the possibility of recall or reporting bias.

Researchers called for additional studies into whether parental use frequency, cannabis use disorder, household exposure and storage practices are associated with children’s health or developmental outcomes. Funding support was reported from four organizations, including the California Department of Cannabis Control and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.