Smoking Marijuana And Playing Video Games Go Hand In Hand, Right? Not So Fast, Researchers Say

Most people take for granted that there’s a link between using marijuana and playing video games, but a new review of available research suggests the connection isn’t so simple. While it is true that most published studies have found a positive correlation between video games and cannabis consumption, but others have found a negative association or no significant effect at all.

The new scientific review, published this month in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, looked at 25 articles on the subject from between 2000 and 2025. It says the statistical noise around any association between gaming and marijuana is likely due to inconsistency in how cannabis use and video game playing are measured.

The report notes that there are good reasons to be curious, as video gaming (VG) and marijuana use “are two behaviors that are particularly prevalent among adolescents and young adults, as they can both be sedentary activities that are used to help decompress.”

But findings of the review were mixed.

“Results demonstrate that existing literature is heterogenous in its methods and mixtures,” the report says. “Nonetheless, evidence suggests that a relationship does exist.”

“The majority of studies did find a positive relationship between VG and cannabis use,” it continues, “although several studies also found no significant relationship, and a few even found a negative relationship.”

Despite decades of anecdotal evidence suggesting that marijuana and gaming communities overlap, scientific research into the area is still in its infancy, the new paper acknowledges.

“Being a new and emerging subject, few studies exist exploring the relationship between VG and cannabis use,” it says, adding that “there is much that needs to be explored before drawing clear conclusions on what type of relationship exists between both behaviours.”

“While the results demonstrate that a relationship between VG and cannabis use does seem to exist,” it adds, “there is currently not enough evidence to draw clear conclusions about the type of relationship that exists.”

Inconsistent methods for testing the relationship between cannabis and video games is likely a big reason for the inconclusive results, authors wrote.

“An inability to draw clear conclusions is, in part, due to a lack of consistency in the way both VG and cannabis use have been operationalized,” they said, “and the use of convenience samples, which have created additional challenges that the field will need to address moving forward.”

Among the problems, for example, is that even the definition of video games is unclear.

“Certain studies appear to be more inclusive of types of video games, including mobile games and/or arcade games,” the review says, “as opposed to others that are more specific, including only console and computer video games and/or only online games.”

Still others “did not specify their definition of VG,” it adds.

Similar inconsistency was observed when it came to defining cannabis use, the report continues, “with some studies focusing on lifetime use of cannabis, or use of cannabis at least once in the past year or in the past month, in contrast to others that evaluated frequency in the past year, 6 months, or month, or problem use.”

Moreover, research—which focuses largely on youth, adolescents and young adults—has been disproportionately focused on college and university students.

“These studies have a sample with a high level of education and typically a higher socioeconomic status, which overlooks more vulnerable populations,” authors wrote. “Studies have found that low-socioeconomic status and less educated individuals are at higher risk of developing a cannabis use problem.”

Research could be improving, however, as the paper observes that most studies on the subject have been published in recent years.

“Overall, the results from this scoping review demonstrate that there is growing interest in the relationship between VG and cannabis use,” it says, “with the majority of articles being published in the past decade.”

Going forward, authors called for more consistency “in the way both cannabis use and VG are operationalized. In particular, VG needs to be defined more clearly by researchers in the field, so as to ensure uniformity in the literature.”

“Furthermore, future research should explore non-linear relationships between VG and cannabis use, as well as non-student young adult and older adult populations that are underrepresented in the literature thus far,” the review encourages. “More qualitative research is also needed in order to contextualize quantitative findings and provide unique insights into this phenomenon.”

One doesn’t have to look far to see why the average observer might assume a connection between video games and marijuana. For example, a New York Times survey of professional National Hockey League (NHL) players published earlier this year found that players are increasingly opting for marijuana and video games over alcohol and partying for leisure.

Last month, meanwhile, the top-selling video game on the distribution platform Steam was about making it big as an illegal drug dealer. Its title—Schedule I—was a cheeky nod to America’s drug war.

The game was the latest in a long series of popular titles involving illegal drug selling, from the text-based Drug Wars of the 1980s to today’s massive Grand Theft Auto franchise.

Officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), meanwhile, seem to think video games act as a deterrent to marijuana use. In a 2023 campaign, the agency encouraged young people to play video games as one of a number of alternatives to doing drugs.

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