Treatment
Although many people believe that cannabis is not addictive and does not cause problems, studies have shown that cannabis use can lead to the development of cannabis use disorder, in which the user cannot stop using despite cannabis use-related health and social problems. It is estimated that about 9% – 30% of cannabis users develop some degree of cannabis use disorder, with early initiators (first use before age 18) at higher risk (NIDA, 2019).
There are currently no medications available to treat cannabis use disorder. However, psychosocial interventions, such as motivational enhancement with cognitive-behavioral therapy and contingency management, have been shown to be effective (Sabioni, 2019).
Likelihood of Seeking Treatment, US
In 2023, among the 48.5 million individuals in the U.S. aged 12+ who had a substance use disorder (SUD), only 14.6% received substance use treatment in the past year.
The low treatment rate may due to the pervasive belief among individuals with an SUD who did not receive treatment, that they did not need treatment (96.6% among youth 12-17, and 94.7% among adults 18+), and thus very few perceive a need to seek out treatment (Figure 1).
Los Angeles County is committed to increasing treatment access rates by focusing more efforts to engage and reach the 95% of people with SUDs who do not access treatment services because they either don’t want or believe that they need help.
Figure 1. Perceptions of need for substance use treatment, US, 2023
Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding. Excludes respondents with missing information on perceived need.
Cannabis Treatment Admissions in LAC
In fiscal year 2024-2025 (FY2425), there were 3,620 clients that accounted for 4,405 admissions to publicly funded substance use disorder treatment programs in Los Angeles County (LAC) in which the client reported cannabis as their primary drug problem. Primary cannabis clients accounted for 10% of all SUD treatment clients, and 7% of all SUD treatment admissions.
The number of cannabis clients and SUD treatment admissions increased from FY2021 to FY2425 (Figures 2-3).
From FY1516 to FY2425, the number of admissions were highest among youth aged 0-17 (35%), followed by adults aged 26-34 (24%), and young adults aged 18-25 (23%) (Figure 4). The number of primary cannabis admissions among youth aged 0-17 decreased by 72% from FY1516 to FY2122, then increased 46% from FY2122 to FY2425. For adults aged 26-34, primary cannabis admissions increased in FY2122 and then largely maintained those levels (Figure 5).
Males accounted for nearly two-thirds (62%) of primary cannabis admissions (Figure 6). The gender gap started to close, then widened again, as the proportion of females increased from FY1516 to FY2122, then decreased through FY2425 (Figure 7).
From FY1516-FY2425, Hispanic/Latinos accounted for over half (62%) of all primary cannabis admissions, while Blacks accounted for less than one-quarter (24%) and Whites accounted for 10% (Figure 8).
The race/ethnic distribution remained relatively stable over the past decade (Figure 9).
Cannabis Treatment Admissions by LAC Regions
Since FY1718, the distribution of primary cannabis admissions remained relatively stable across LAC SPAs.
In FY2425, SPA 6 (South Bay, 22%) accounted for the largest proportion of primary cannabis admissions in LAC, while SPA 5 (West, 2%) accounted for the smallest proportion (Figure 10).
Note: Based on non-missing residential address. SPA and SD boundaries were defined based on the current boundaries per each fiscal year. SPA boundaries were changed in 2022 and SD boundaries were changed in 2021 to reflect Census 2020 boundaries.
Since FY1718, the number of primary cannabis admissions increased in SD 4 and SD 2, and decreased in SD 1 and SD 5.
In FY2425, the proportions of primary cannabis admissions were largest in SD 2 (31%), and lowest in SD 3 (12%) (Figure 11).
Note: SPA and SD boundaries were defined based on the current boundaries per each fiscal year. SPA boundaries were changed in 2022 and SD boundaries were changed in 2021 to reflect Census 2020 data.
References
Los Angeles County Participant Reporting System (LACPRS). Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). 2019, December 24. Cannabis (Marijuana) DrugFacts. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/cannabis-marijuana on 1/2/2020.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Detailed tables. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2023-nsduh-detailed-tables
Sabioni P, Le Foll B. (2019). Psychosocial and Pharmacological Interventions for the Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorder. Focus 17(2):163-168. Retrieved from https://focus.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.focus.17202.