9 facts about Americans and marijuana
Around nine-in-ten U.S. adults say marijuana should be legal either for medical or recreational use. Just 12% say the drug should not be legal at all.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Drug Policy
All
Drug Policy
Publications
-
-
Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational Use
Americans largely favor legalization of the drug, including 57% who say it should be legal for both medical and recreational use.
-
Most Americans now live in a legal marijuana state – and most have at least one dispensary in their county
74% of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use.
-
Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use
With more states authorizing the use of marijuana, the public continues to favor legalizing it for medical and recreational purposes.
-
Clear majorities of Black Americans favor marijuana legalization, easing of criminal penalties
57% of Black adults say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults; 28% say it should be legal for medical use only.
-
Concern about drug addiction has declined in U.S., even in areas where fatal overdoses have risen the most
Public concern about addiction is down even in the parts of the U.S. where drug overdose death rates have increased the most.
-
Recent surge in U.S. drug overdose deaths has hit Black men the hardest
Black men are now on par with American Indian or Alaska Native men as the demographic groups most likely to die from overdoses.
-
Religious Americans are less likely to endorse legal marijuana for recreational use
U.S. adults who are affiliated with a religion are less likely than religiously unaffiliated adults to support broadly legal marijuana.
-
Four-in-ten U.S. drug arrests in 2018 were for marijuana offenses – mostly possession
Police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
-
Two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization
Two-thirds of Americans say marijuana use should be legal, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade.
