A new study suggests that the relationship between marijuana and playing games is not as simple as most people think. It’s true that the majority of published studies found a correlation between cannabis and video games, however some have also found negative associations or even no effect.
A new review published in this month’s Journal of Behavioral Addictions examined 25 articles from 2000 to 2025. According to the study, there is a lot of statistical noise surrounding marijuana use in video games. This may be due in part to an inconsistency with how these two things are measured.
It is worth noting that marijuana and video games are both sedentary, sedentary behaviors used by adolescents to decompress.
However, the results were mixed.
Report: “Results demonstrated that literature used is heterogenous and mixed in terms of its mixtures and methods.” The evidence does suggest that there is a connection.
It continues: “The majority did find a significant positive relationship between VG consumption and marijuana use, although several studies failed to show any relationship and a handful even showed a negative one.”
The paper admits that scientific research is only in its infant stages, despite the fact that there have been decades of reports indicating overlap between marijuana users and gamers.
The report states that, “Being an emerging topic, there are few studies exploring the relationship between cannabis and VG.” “There’s much more that must be investigated before drawing any clear conclusions as to what type of relation exists between the two behaviors,” adds it.
It adds that, while the findings show that a correlation between VG use and cannabis consumption does exist, there are not yet enough data to be able to draw any clear conclusions regarding the kind of relationship present.
Authors wrote that inconsistent testing methods are likely to be a major reason for inconclusive findings.
The field must address additional issues that have arisen as a result of the convenience samples and the lack of consistency of how VG is used.
One of the issues is the fact that the very definition of videogames is not clear.
This review notes that certain studies are inclusive, such as those involving mobile and arcade video games. Others, however, tend to be more specialized, focusing on console, computer and online video games.
The report adds that some “didn’t specify what they meant by VG”.
The report continued, “Some studies focused on lifetime cannabis use or cannabis usage at least once within the last year or the month. Others evaluated the frequency of use in the previous year, six months or month.”
Moreover, research—which focuses largely on youth, adolescents and young adults—has been disproportionately focused on college and university students.
These studies are based on a sample that has a high education level and a typically higher socioeconomic standing, but they ignore more vulnerable populations,” wrote the authors. Researchers have discovered that individuals with a low socioeconomic status or who are less educated face a higher risk for developing a marijuana use disorder.
The paper notes that the majority of studies have only been published recently.
It says that “overall, this scoping study demonstrates that there is a growing interest in the relation between VG consumption and cannabis use,” with the majority of published articles in the past decade.
In the future, they called for greater consistency in “the way cannabis and VG use are operationalized.” To ensure consistency in literature, researchers need to define VG clearly.
The review suggests that future research explore the non-linear relationship between VG use and cannabis consumption, and also include non-students, young adults, and older adults who are not represented in current literature. The review suggests that more qualitative research should be conducted to help contextualize quantitative data and gain unique insights about this phenomenon.
It is not difficult to understand why an average person might think that video games are connected to marijuana. A New York Times study of National Hockey League players, published in the past year, found that more players prefer marijuana and videogames to alcohol and parties for their leisure.
The top selling video game last month on Steam’s distribution platform was all about becoming a successful illegal drug dealer. Its title—Schedule I—was a cheeky nod to America’s drug war.
The Grand Theft Auto game is the newest in a series of games that have featured illegal drug sales, from the text based Drug Wars of the 80s up to the massive Grand Theft Auto Franchise of today.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) officials, meanwhile seem to believe that video games are a good way to discourage marijuana usage. As part of its 2023 advertising campaign, the agency encouraged youth to use video games instead of drugs.
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