A new study found that more college students engage in daily or near-daily marijuana smoking compared to cigarette smoking. The findings of the study indicated that the number of pot smokers in the college level has exceeded cigarette smokers for the first time ever in 2014.

The investigations, which are part of the Monitoring the Future study of the University of Michigan, showed that the rise in marijuana use among US campuses has been gradually occurring since 2006.

The researchers found that the percentage of college students who have reported marijuana use on a daily or near-daily basis rose from 3.5 percent in 2007 to 5.9 percent in 2014. This number is also said to be the highest incidence recorded since the 1980s when the first series of surveys among college students were performed. This finding may be translated as one in every 17 students in college is using marijuana daily or near-daily, which is described as the use of the substance for 20 or more times in the last 30 days.

The rise of marijuana use in US college students has apparently shoot up in the last seven to eight years, says Lloyd Johnston, the study's principal researcher. This finding also significantly reflects the increase that they have been observing among the nation's high school students in their senior years.

One of the probable reasons for the increase in marijuana use may be because lesser and lesser young adults and teenagers are viewing marijuana as something dangerous. According to the study, high school graduates aged between 19-22 years old, who regard marijuana as dangerous, has decreased from 55 percent in 2006 to 35 percent in 2014.

Another possible rationale for the results of the study may be the fact that states have started more lenient policies regarding marijuana use. People's perception of marijuana and its use have changed drastically all across the US. In 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington have approved the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes, followed by Alaska, District of Columbia and Oregon.

Monitoring the Future is an initiative supported by the National Institutes of Health to monitor information regarding substance use among the nation's young people. This survey has been conducted annually since the 1980s and involves approximately 1,000 to 1,500 college students with full loads for every study.

Photo: Chuck Grimmet | Flickr