6 Interesting Facts about Americans and Marijuana
Although marijuana is still illegal under federal law in the United States, more states are legalizing it for recreational or medical purposes. The legal landscape is changing rapidly, and most Americans support legalization.
- According to a Pew Research Center survey, nine out of ten Americans support legalizing marijuana. The overwhelming majority (91%) of U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legalized for both medical and recreational use (60%) and that it should only be legalized for medical purposes (31%). Only 8% believe that marijuana should be illegal in any form.
- Public support for legalizing marijuana varies widely by age and party. Only 32% of people aged 75 or older believe marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational use. This is the lowest percentage for any age group. Seven-in-ten under-30s favor the legalization of marijuana for recreational and medical use.
- In the past two decades, there has been an increase in support for legalizing marijuana. The Center also asked Americans questions about marijuana legalization. In 2019, two-thirds of adults supported the legalization of marijuana, more than twice the number who did so in 2000.
- According to the survey, 86% and 70% of those surveyed said these were very important reasons to support legalization.79% of Americans who support legalizing marijuana say that it would increase car accidents involving marijuana-user drivers. A majority of Americans (69%) believe legalization will lead to increased use of more powerful and addictive drugs.
- According to the Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2019, less than half (46%) say they have ever tried marijuana. This is less than the share of Americans who have ever smoked or ingested alcohol (80%), and 61% respectively.
According to the same survey, 18% of Americans claim they have used marijuana in the last year. 11%, however, say they have only used it once.
- According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, small amounts of marijuana have been legalized in 17 states and the District of Columbia as of April 2021. New Mexico and New York became the latest states to legalize marijuana for recreational use this spring. According to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, 43% of Americans now live in areas that have legalized recreational marijuana use at the local level. Guam, an American territory, has legalized recreational marijuana in 2019. The Northern Mariana Islands (a U.S. commonwealth) did it in 2018.
A dc weed deliveryhas been approved by at least three dozen states. Many states have also passed laws that reduce the penalties for certain marijuana-related convictions or allow past convictions to be exonerated.