Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Visit us at pewresearch.org
An overwhelming share of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults (59%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (30%). Just one-in-ten (10%) say marijuana use should not be legal, according to a survey conducted Oct. 10-16, 2022. These views are virtually unchanged since April 2021.
As more states, including Virginia and New York, continue to legalize marijuana, an overwhelming share of U.S. adults (91%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (31%). Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) say marijuana should not be legal for use by adults.
The new survey, conducted April 5-11, 2021, comes as congressional Democrats consider legislation that would decriminalize marijuana nationally. Views of marijuana legalization have changed very little since 2019.
A growing number of states have legalized or decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But the drug remains illegal in other states and under federal law – and police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.">
Police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
A growing number of states have legalized or decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But the drug remains illegal in other states and under federal law – and police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but a growing number of states have legalized the drug for recreational or medical purposes in recent years. The changing legal landscape has coincided with a dramatic increase in public support for legalization, which is favored by a majority of Americans. Here are six facts about Americans and marijuana: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/22/facts-about-marijuana/ ">
A majority of Americans support marijuana legalization. Support for the drug's legalization has grown across demographic groups over time.
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but a growing number of states have legalized the drug for recreational or medical purposes in recent years. The changing legal landscape has coincided with a dramatic increase in public support for legalization, which is favored by a majority of Americans. Here are six facts about Americans and marijuana: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/22/facts-about-marijuana/
Two-thirds of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade, according to our new survey. The share of U.S. adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (91%) say marijuana should be legal either for medical and recreational use (59%) or that it should be legal just for medical use (32%). Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) prefer to keep marijuana illegal in all circumstances.
As in the past, there are wide partisan and generational differences in views of marijuana legalization.
Today, Canada became the second country to legalize recreational marijuana. In the United States, about six-in-ten Americans (62%) say the use of marijuana should be legalized, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade.
Majorities of Millennials (74%), Gen Xers (63%) and Baby Boomers (54%) say the use of marijuana should be legal. Members of the Silent Generation continue to be the least supportive of legalization (39%).
Nearly seven-in-ten Democrats (69%) say marijuana use should be legal. Republicans are divided, with 45% in favor of legalizing marijuana and 51% opposed.
Today, 61% of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade. Majorities of Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers say the use of marijuana should be legalized, a view also held by large shares of Democrats and independents.
Public opinion about legalizing marijuana, while little changed in the past few years, has undergone a dramatic long-term shift. A new survey finds that 53% favor the legal use of marijuana, while 44% are opposed. As recently as 2006, just 32% supported marijuana legalization, while nearly twice as many (60%) were opposed.
Other key findings:
Supporters of legalization cite its perceived health benefits, or see it as no more dangerous than other drugs.
Opponents say marijuana is a dangerous drug that inflicts damage on people and society more generally.
Among the public overall, 30% say they support legalizing marijuana use and have always felt that way, while 21% have changed their minds; there was a time when they thought it should be illegal.
59% say that the federal government should not enforce laws in states that allow marijuana use; 37% say that they should enforce these laws.
62% say that if marijuana were legal it would bother them if people used it in public; just 33% say this would not bother them.
19% of opponents of legalization say marijuana is illegal and needs to be policed.
27% of supporters say legalization would lead to improved regulation of marijuana and increased tax revenues.
Seven-in-ten Americans say government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth. A majority of Americans also say the federal government should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states that allow it. Read the full survey here.
Republicans continue to trail Democrats and Independents in their support for legalizing marijuana, but a growing minority now hold this view. Among Republicans, most conservatives oppose legalization, while about half of self-described liberals and moderates support it.
Overall, 48% say they have ever tried marijuana, up from 38% a decade ago. Roughly half in all age groups, except for those 65 and older, say they have tried marijuana.
About one-in-ten (12%) say they have used marijuana in the past year. Age differences are much more pronounced when it comes to the recent use of marijuana: 27% of those younger than 30 say they have used marijuana in the past year, at least three times the percentage in any other age group.
Among those who say they have used marijuana in the past year, 47% say they used it “just for fun,” while 30% say it was for a medical issue; 23% volunteer they used it for medical purposes and also just for fun.
For the first time in more than four decades of polling on the issue, a majority of Americans favor legalizing the use of marijuana. A national survey finds that 52% say that the use of marijuana should be made legal while 45% say it should not.