The number of Americans who say they smoke marijuana is holding steady, even as the share who favor legalization grows. A new poll from the Gallup Organization reveals 12% of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana, a percentage that has held steady since 2015, the polling organization reported, while a separate survey finds that growing numbers of Americans favor marijuana legalization.
The July 2019 Gallup poll found the likelihood to smoke marijuana varies significantly by gender, age, geography and political ideology. For example:
- Men are more likely to smoke marijuana (15% said they did) than are women (9%);
- Adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are about twice as likely to smoke marijuana as are those between the ages of 30 and 64, and 7 times as likely as adults 65 and older;
- Adults identifying as politically liberal are six times as likely to smoke marijuana as are those self-identifying as conservative (24% compared to 4%), and twice as likely as political moderates (12%).
- Between 13% and 16% of adults in the East, Midwest and West say they smoke marijuana, compared to just 7% of those living in the South.
Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center has released survey results showing that two-thirds of U.S. adults support marijuana legalization, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade in the share of Americans who favor legalization. The share of U.S. adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today, Pew reports.
Like the Gallop poll, Pew’s survey found variation in marijuana legalization views based on age and political leanings. Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents support marijuana legalization, for example, compared to 55% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Generationally, only those born between 1928 and 1945 remain staunchly opposed (64%). See chart for a trend analysis.
