This sociological study looks at how marijuana use affects college students’ academic performance in the Pakistani city of Mardan. The study was specifically designed to determine how marijuana use affected students’ academic performance, as well as to learn what the students thought about the impact of marijuana use on their college coursework and test scores. Forty respondents, ages 15 to 21, were selected randomly from eight public and private intermediate boys’ institutions in the Pakistani city of Mardan. The created questionnaire included closed-ended questions, and the study was quantitative in nature. Following categorization and coding, descriptive statistics were used for analysis in order to make sense of the data. The frequency counts, averages, and percentages of each response were used to analyse the quantitative data. According to the study’s findings, marijuana users have the greatest rate of dependence or abuse from the previous year among all illegal drug users, and the number of students using marijuana is rising daily as a result of the drug’s easy access to the market. Students who regularly use marijuana may have a variety of social issues, including as disputes with friends, instructors, and college officials, as well as mental health issues and a lack of enthusiasm in class activities. The study also found that marijuana use impairs a student’s perception, coordination, and decision-making, all of which have an effect on academic activities. As a result, marijuana use has effects in terms of lower exam scores, which hinder a student’s ability to get into college and continue their education.
Cite this paper
Fatima, S. , Zubair, A. , Rashid, M. , Aurangzaib, S. , Aziz, A. and Ying, H. (2025). The Effects of Marijuana Use on Student’s Academic Performance: A Case Study of Pakistan. Open Access Library Journal, 12, e3496. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1113496.
Ali, Z., Nadia, A. and Maria, B. (2023) Drug Addiction among the Male University Students: A Sociological Study of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur. Journal of Social & Organizational Matters, 1, 30-53. https://doi.org/10.56976/jsom.v1i2.1
Sullivan, M. and Risler, E. (2002) Understanding College Alcohol Abuse and Academic Performance: Selecting Appropriate Intervention Strategies. Journal of College Counseling, 5, 114-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2002.tb00213.x
Moore, E.M., Simmons, M.A. and Threatt, J. (2025) Mental Health Challenges and Substance Use in Student-Athletes: Prevalence and Impact. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, Article 1527793. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1527793
Terry-McElrath, Y.M., Patrick, M.E., O’Malley, P.M. and Johnston, L.D. (2022) Self-Reported Perceived Negative Consequences of Marijuana Use among U.S. Young Adult Users, 2008-2019. Addictive Behaviors, 124, Article 107098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107098
Memedovich, K.A., Dowsett, L.E., Spackman, E., Noseworthy, T. and Clement, F. (2018) The Ad-verse Health Effects and Harms Related to Marijuana Use: An Overview Review. CMAJ Open, 6, E339-E346. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20180023
Simons, J.S. and Carey, K.B. (2002) Risk and Vulnerability for Marijuana Use Problems: The Role of Affect Dysregulation. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 16, 72-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164x.16.1.72
Meier, M.H., Hill, M.L., Small, P.J. and Luthar, S.S. (2015) Associations of Adolescent Cannabis Use with Academic Performance and Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study of Upper Mid-dle Class Youth. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 156, 207-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.09.010
Christophorou, L.G. (1978) The Lifetimes of Metastable Negative Ions. In: Advances in Electronics and Elec-tron Physics, Elsevier, 55-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2539(08)60411-4
Buist, A.S., McBurnie, M.A., Vollmer, W.M., Gillespie, S., Burney, P., Mannino, D.M., et al. (2007) Interna-tional Variation in the Prevalence of COPD (The BOLD Study): A Popula-tion-Based Prevalence Study. The Lancet, 370, 741-750. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61377-4
Adil, M.A., Ullah, H.M.H., Faisal, M., Butt, M.F. and Javed, K. (2024) Drug Usage in Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis with Other Countries and the Legal Frame-Work. Indus Journal of Social Sciences, 2, 686-701.
Siddiqui, S., Khalid, F., Khalid, M.F., Towheed, A., Ahmed, S., Paracha, H., et al. (2024) Exploring the Prevalence and Determinants of Substance Use among Drug Addicts in Pakistan. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4644279/v1
Jonker, F.H.W., Trimarchi, S., Verhagen, H.J.M., Moll, F.L., Sumpio, B.E. and Muhs, B.E. (2010) Meta-Analysis of Open versus Endovascular Repair for Ruptured Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 51, 1026-1032.E2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2009.10.103
Ng, J.H., Rice, K.K., Ananth, C.V. and Brandt, J.S. (2022) Attitudes about Marijuana Use, Potential Risks, and Legalization: A Single-Center Survey of Pregnant Women. The Journal of Ma-ternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 35, 4635-4643. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2020.1858279
Cerdá, M., Mauro, C., Hamilton, A., Levy, N.S., Santaella-Tenorio, J., Hasin, D., et al. (2020) Associ-ation between Recreational Marijuana Legalization in the United States and Changes in Marijuana Use and Cannabis Use Disorder from 2008 to 2016. JA-MA Psychiatry, 77, 165. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3254
Louw, A., Cracco, C., Cerf, C., Harf, A., Duvaldestin, P., Lemaire, F., et al. (2001) Accuracy of Pulse Oximetry in the Intensive Care Unit. Intensive Care Medicine, 27, 1606-1613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001340101064
Jackson, K.M., Sokolovsky, A.W., Gunn, R.L. and White, H.R. (2020) Consequences of Alcohol and Mariju-ana Use among College Students: Prevalence Rates and Attributions to Sub-stance-Specific versus Simultaneous Use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34, 370-381. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000545
Casey, J.L. and Cser-venka, A. (2020) Effects of Frequent Marijuana Use on Risky Decision-Making in Young Adult College Students. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 11, Article 100253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100253
Tarantino, G., Cataldi, M. and Citro, V. (2022) Could Alcohol Abuse and Dependence on Junk Foods In-ducing Obesity and/or Illicit Drug Use Represent Danger to Liver in Young Peo-ple with Altered Psychological/Relational Spheres or Emotional Problems? In-ternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, Article 10406. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810406
Ganson, K.T., Murray, S.B. and Nagata, J.M. (2021) Associations between Eating Disorders and Illicit Drug Use among College Students. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54, 1127-1134. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23493
Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T.E., Taylor, A., Craig, I.W., Harrington, H., et al. (2003) Influence of Life Stress on Depression: Moderation by a Polymorphism in the 5-HTT Gene. Science, 301, 386-389. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1083968
Windle, M. and Windle, R.C. (2018) Parental Divorce and Family History of Alcohol Disorder: Associations with Young Adults’ Alcohol Problems, Marijuana Use, and Interpersonal Rela-tions. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42, 1084-1095. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13638
Fernández, M.E., Castelluccio, L., Sanjurjo, I. and Carretto, L.D. (2024) Adolescent and Parental Risk Perception of Alcohol and Marijuana Use and Well-Being of Adolescents in Uruguay. In: Florence, M., Vanderplasschen, W., Yu, M., De Maeyer, J. and Savahl, S., Eds., International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, Springer, 435-446. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65873-0_30
Nwadimkpa, O.J., Ok-pako, J.E.F.O. and Asogwa, E.U. (2025) Effect of Health Education on Attitude Towards Illicit Drug Use among Secondary School Students in Diobu, Rivers State. Journal of Advances in Education and Philosophy, 9, 49-55. https://doi.org/10.36348/jaep.2025.v09i02.001
Enriquez-Guerrero, C.L., Barreto-Zorza, Y.M., Lozano-Vélez, L. and Ocampo-Gómez, M.A. (2021) Percepción de adolescentes sobre consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en en-tornos escolares. Estudio cualitativo. MedUNAB, 24, 41-60. https://doi.org/10.29375/01237047.3959
Syed, W., Iqbal, A., Siddiqui, N.A., Mothana, R.A. and Noman, O. (2022) Attitudes and Associated Demo-graphic Factors Contributing Towards the Abuse of Illicit Drugs: A Cross-Sectional Study from Health Care Students in Saudi Arabia. Medicina, 58, Article 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58020322
Saeed, S., Ali, I., Nadeem, M., Khaliq, F., Tariq, M., Ali, M. Z. and Rasul, I. (2021) Prevalence of Drug Abuse in Educational Institutes of Pakistan: A Phenomenological Study. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 15, 633-652.
Chang, H. (2021) Individual and Collaborative Autoethnog-raphy for Social Science Research. In: Adams, T.E., Jones, S.H. and Ellis, C., Eds., Handbook of Autoethnography, Routledge, 53-65. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429431760-6
Charlton, M., Everson, G.T., Flamm, S.L., Kumar, P., Landis, C., Brown, R.S., et al. (2015) Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir Plus Ribavirin for Treatment of HCV Infection in Patients with Ad-vanced Liver Disease. Gastroenterology, 149, 649-659. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2015.05.010
Rahman, M.M., Tabash, M.I., Salamzadeh, A., Abduli, S. and Rahaman, M.S. (2022) Sampling Tech-niques (Probability) for Quantitative Social Science Researchers: A Conceptual Guidelines with Examples. SEEU Review, 17, 42-51.
Rehnqvist, N., Hjemdahl, P., Billing, E., Bjorkander, I., Eriksson, S.V., Forslund, L., et al. (1996) Effects of Metoprolol vs Verapamil in Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris: The Angina Prognosis Study in Stockholm (APSIS). European Heart Journal, 17, 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a014695
Arshad, S., Mahmood, S., Rasool, S., Hayat, S., Zafar, S. and Zehra, T. (2016) Rational Drug Use in Pakistan: A Systematic Review. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Com-munity Medicine, 2, 116-122. https://doi.org/10.5530/jppcm.2016.4.3
Ghazal, P. (2019) Rising Trend of Substance Abuse in Pakistan: A Study of Sociodemographic Profiles of Pa-tients Admitted to Rehabilitation Centres. Public Health, 167, 34-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.10.020
Ahmed, B., Navid Yousaf, F., Saud, M. and Ahmad, A. (2020) Youth at Risk: The Alarming Issue of Drug Addiction in Academic Institutions in Pakistan. Children and Youth Services Re-view, 118, Article 105385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105385
Riaz, S., Iqbal, N., Mehmood, B., Nasir, R., Naqvi, S., Junejo, M., et al. (2022) Effect of Illicit Sub-stance Use on Academic Performance of Medical Students in Karachi, Pakistan. Public Health and Toxicology, 2, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.18332/pht/146151
Adamczyk-Robinette, S.L., Fletcher, A.C. and Wright, K. (2002) Understanding the Authoritative Parent-ing-Early Adolescent Tobacco Use Link: The Mediating Role of Peer Tobacco Use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 311-318. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1015401718682
Becoña, E., Martínez, ú., Calafat, A., Fernández-Hermida, J., Juan, M., Sumnall, H., et al. (2013) Parental Permissiveness, Control, and Affect and Drug Use among Adolescents. Psico-thema, 3, 292-298. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2012.294
Steinberg, L. (2001) We Know Some Things: Parent-Adolescent Relationships in Retrospect and Pro-spect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00001
Allen, M., Donohue, W.A., Griffin, A., Ryan, D. and Turner, M.M.M. (2003) Comparing the Influence of Parents and Peers on the Choice to Use Drugs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 30, 163-186.
Shahzadi, M., Hafeez, S., Jabeen, M., Ehsaan, S. and Asif, N. (2023) Parental Influence on Adolescent Substance Use: A Systematic Review. Pakistan Journal of Ap-plied Psychology (PJAP), 3, 337-355.