Palm Trees

Study Identifies Link Between Marijuana Use and Music

For those who believe there are suggestive messages in music, this belief may be founded in fact. According to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study summarized in Science Daily, teens who frequently listen to music that contains references to marijuana are more likely to use the drug than those who do not.

"Based on an analysis of survey data from 959 ninth-graders, we found that students who listen to music with the most references to marijuana are almost twice as likely to have used the drug than their peers whose musical tastes favor songs less focused on substance use, even after controlling for confounding factors," said Brian Primack, M.D.,Ed.M., M.S., lead author of the study.

Primack also noted that the research determined that exposure to marijuana in music was not associated with other high-risk behaviors, such as excessive alcohol consumption. This finding suggests there is a real and dangerous link between the marijuana lyrics and marijuana use.

In this study, researchers estimated that the average study participant listened to 21.8 hours of music every week, resulting in exposure to roughly 40 marijuana references in music every day. Of those participating in the study, 12 percent identified themselves as current marijuana users and 32 percent identified themselves as having tried the substance in the past.

When compared with those who cited a favorite artist with no songs containing references to marijuana, those students who identified a favorite artist with three or more songs with cannabis references had nearly double the odds of being current marijuana users.

"Although it may be that heavy exposure to music about marijuana causes marijuana smoking, it may also be that those who smoke marijuana seek out music with lyrics related to marijuana," noted Dr. Primack.