Cannabis use among Minnesota teens has dropped sharply over the past decade, according to new statewide data. The 2025 Minnesota Student Survey shows big declines in both past-month and past-year marijuana use among 8th-, 9th- and 11th-graders, even as adult recreational cannabis sales have rolled out across the state. The findings land at a moment when parents, educators and lawmakers are watching closely to see how legalization and a growing retail market affect young people.
State data show sharp decline
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, past-12-month cannabis use among 8th-, 9th- and 11th-graders fell from 14.9% in 2013 to 6.3% in 2025, a 57.7% decline. The agency also reported that 96% of surveyed students said they had not used cannabis in the past month, underscoring how few are current users.
First statewide snapshot since legalization
The 2025 Minnesota Student Survey is the first full student survey completed since Minnesota legalized adult-use cannabis in 2023. Coverage from MPR News highlighted the headline takeaway: teens now report using cannabis at roughly half the rate seen a decade ago. Local reporting has treated the survey as an early statewide test of whether legalization would normalize marijuana use among youth.
What students report about use and access
The latest numbers show 4.1% of students reported using cannabis in the past month in 2025, and 6.3% reported using it at least once in the past year. Among students who said they had used cannabis, about 40.5% reported first trying it at age 13 or 14. Many said they got cannabis from friends (38.7%), while roughly 5% reported buying it directly from retail stores or dispensaries. Smoking and vaping turned up at similar rates among those who use, and students reported significant misperceptions about how common cannabis use actually is. A majority, 54%, said they believed more than half of their peers use cannabis, even though most students said they have never used it, according to a data brief from the Minnesota Department of Health.
Where Minnesota fits nationally
Minnesota’s numbers line up with national surveys that have found declines in adolescent marijuana use in recent years. The Monitoring the Future study has documented large drops in youth cannabis use during and after the pandemic. Public health agencies caution that lower overall use does not erase concerns about early initiation or frequent use, and federal guidance from the CDC points to risks for brain development and mental health among young users.
Officials call for prevention, not complacency
State and school leaders say the downturn is encouraging, but they are not treating it as a signal to ease up on prevention. “Despite positive trends, the student survey indicates that some of our children are encountering cannabis at young ages,” MDH Commissioner Brooke Cunningham said in a news release quoted by the Star Tribune. Educators told reporters that the new data will be used to better target school-based prevention and outreach, while public health advocates are urging families to keep talking with kids about cannabis and to pay close attention to how teens are accessing products as the retail market matures.
