The use and possession of marijuana is illegal under U.S. federal law, but about three-quarters of states have legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes. The changing legal landscape has coincided with a decades-long rise in public support for legalization, which a majority of Americans now favor.
Here are nine facts about Americans’ views of and experiences with marijuana, based on Pew Research Center surveys and other sources.
1.Around nine-in-ten Americans say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use, according to a January 2024 Pew Research Center survey.
2.Views on marijuana legalization differ widely by age, political party, and race and ethnicity, the January survey shows.
3.Support for marijuana legalization has increased dramatically over the last two decades.
4.Half of U.S. adults (50.3%) say they have ever used marijuana, according to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That is a smaller share than the 84.1% who say they have ever consumed alcohol and the 64.8% who have ever used tobacco products or vaped nicotine.
5.While many Americans say legalizing recreational marijuana has economic and criminal justice benefits, views on these and other impacts vary, the Center’s January survey shows.
6.Most Americans support easing penalties for people with marijuana convictions, an October 2021 Center survey found.
7.Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for both medical and recreational use as of March 2024.
8.More than half of Americans (54%) live in a state where both recreational and medical marijuana are legal, and 74% live in a state where it’s legal either for both purposes or medical use only.
9.About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) live in a county with at least one cannabis dispensary.
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