Marijuana Blunt Smoking Has ‘Increased Significantly’ In The U.S. In Recent Years, Study Shows

Marijuana blunt smoking increase: a late-night snapshot of America’s changing habits. That’s the headline, and it’s not hype. A new analysis of NSDUH data says blunt smoking “increased substantially” from 2015 to 2022, the kind of steady rise you notice the way a neighborhood bar fills after midnight—at first a trickle, then a hum, then a crowd. Researchers from Texas, Brown, UCLA, and Cincinnati tracked adults who’ve ever smoked a cannabis blunt, those who did it in the past month, and the daily diehards. All three climbed. The sharpest jumps showed up among groups that traditionally steered clear: women, older adults, and people who don’t drink. It’s a clean metric in a messy time—where legalization spreads, stigma thins, and the line between ritual and routine gets blurry. The paper, published in Addictive Behaviors, lands with one big caveat: a blunt’s charm carries baggage. That cigar wrapper isn’t just a vessel—it’s tobacco, and that means added risks you can’t wish away (study link).

Let’s talk numbers, the way you parse a bill after the encore. Lifetime blunt smoking up 21.7 percent from 2015 to 2022. Past-30-day use up 34.4 percent. Daily blunt smoking among current cannabis consumers up 24.5 percent. The dataset wasn’t a small-town headcount either: 326,087 adults weighed in, plus a focused subsample of 22,294 current blunt smokers for the daily-use look. In plain English: the habit broadened and burrowed in. This is cannabis consumption shifting from novelty to norm, a combustion-forward ritual that survived the vaping boom, the edibles wave, and the wellness era’s lavender-and-yoga whisper. It’s smoke, ash, and the slow crackle of a cheap cigar wrapper turned delivery system—simple, social, and, for many, satisfying. But that simplicity hides a chemical subplot. Tobacco wrappers can add nicotine exposure, change the pharmacokinetics of the high, and nudge dependency in directions straight flower doesn’t. Convenience always charges a fee.

The demographic pivots tell a deeper story. Lifetime blunt smoking climbed more among non-Hispanic White adults (23.7 percent) and Hispanic adults (30.2 percent) than among non-Hispanic Black adults (8.6 percent). Current blunt smoking jumped 63.6 percent among women versus 19.0 percent among men. And people who don’t drink alcohol? Their current blunt smoking rose 92.3 percent compared to 23.4 percent among drinkers. Daily blunt smoking among current users surged especially among non-Hispanic White adults (80.4 percent) compared to just 3.7 percent among non-Hispanic Black adults. Translation: new adopters are crowding into a space that used to be unevenly distributed by culture and habit. Legalization’s slow march likely helped—dispensaries near grocery stores, not just dusty head shops out of time. And that’s where our policy soup matters. When a senior Republican floats the idea that it’s time to build a national framework to match what states have already legalized, you can feel the ground stabilizing beneath consumer behavior—see GOP Senator Says It’s Time To Create A Federal ‘Regulatory Construct’ For Marijuana To Align With State Legalization Laws. The more predictable the rules, the less taboo the use, and the more likely that once “niche” modalities go mainstream.

But the map still looks like a quilt stitched by feuding relatives. Take border-state whiplash: when one jurisdiction clamps down on alternatives, another becomes the pressure valve. In Ohio, the crackdown on intoxicating hemp products is forcing operators and customers to recalibrate their playbooks, a reminder that channels matter—where permitted products narrow, combustion often steps in to fill the void. For a snapshot of that tension, look at As Ohio’s Intoxicating Hemp Product Ban Takes Effect, Business Owners Brace For Impact. Out West, meanwhile, access gets hammered on different axes. California’s governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed cannabis businesses to deliver directly to patients—an efficiency and dignity upgrade that died on the vine. In a world where a blunt is easy to source but medical delivery remains a political football, behavior follows the path of least resistance; see Newsom Vetoes California Bill To Let Marijuana Businesses Deliver Products Directly To Patients. And through it all, the health math persists: cigar wrappers add tobacco and toxins to the equation. If you’re consuming regularly, treat that wrapper choice like you would the grill marks on a steak—delicious, sure, but not an everyday religion.

Culture keeps racing ahead of law, but law is jogging to catch up. Senators are openly talking about reconciling cannabis use with constitutional rights, including the thorniest ones—the kind that force politicians to say the quiet parts out loud. If you want a read on how the conversation is evolving in the halls of power, tap GOP senators talk cannabis consumers’ gun rights (Newsletter: October 14, 2025). Meanwhile, the blunt—part ritual, part rebellion—keeps finding new hands. The data doesn’t glamorize it; it just documents a country slipping into a new relationship with cannabis, one puff at a time. If you’re navigating this landscape, weigh the wrapper, know your dose, and choose the route that respects your lungs and your life. And when you’re ready to explore compliant, high-quality options with transparency from seed to shelf, slide over to our shop: https://thcaorder.com/shop/.