The legal landscape surrounding marijuana use in the United States has changed dramatically since 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize the drug for recreational use. Today, nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia allow people to use marijuana for both medical and recreational reasons. And even though it remains illegal under federal law, the Trump administration has relaxed national regulations on medical marijuana.
Here are 10 facts about Americans and marijuana, based on Pew Research Center surveys and other sources.
The vast majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana in some way, according to a January 2026 Center survey. A majority of U.S. adults (55%) say that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, and another 33% say it should be legal for medical use only. Just 11% say the drug should not be legal at all. These views have held relatively steady since 2019.
| It should be legal for medical AND recreational use | It should be legal for medical use ONLY | It should NOT be legal |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | 33 | 11 |
Views on marijuana legalization differ by age, political party and other factors, according to the January 2026 survey. Some groups are much more likely than others to support legalization for both medical and recreational use:
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanics are of any race. Shares of respondents who did not answer are not shown.
| Population | It should be legal for medical AND recreational use | It should be legal for medical use ONLY | It should NOT be legal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 55 | 33 | 11 |
| White | 58 | 30 | 11 |
| Hispanic | 45 | 40 | 15 |
| Black | 61 | 30 | 8 |
| Asian* | 34 | 52 | 14 |
| Ages 18-29 | 63 | 27 | 8 |
| 30-49 | 60 | 28 | 11 |
| 50-64 | 51 | 36 | 13 |
| 65+ | 43 | 43 | 12 |
| 65-74 | 50 | 38 | 12 |
| 75+ | 34 | 51 | 13 |
| Rep/Lean Rep | 44 | 39 | 16 |
| Conserv | 38 | 43 | 19 |
| Mod/Lib | 54 | 33 | 13 |
| Dem/Lean Dem | 67 | 27 | 6 |
| Cons/Mod | 56 | 35 | 8 |
| Liberal | 80 | 17 | 3 |
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanics are of any race. Shares of respondents who did not answer are not shown.
- Younger adults: 63% of adults under 30 support legalization for both uses. That compares with 50% of those ages 65 to 74 and 34% of Americans ages 75 and older.
- Democrats: Two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor legalization for both uses, compared with 44% of Republicans and GOP leaners. Notably, conservative and moderate Democrats (56%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (54%) express similar levels of support.
- Black and White Americans: Around six-in-ten Black (61%) and White adults (58%) support legalizing marijuana for both uses. That compares with 45% of Hispanic Americans and 34% of Asian Americans.
Support for marijuana legalization has increased dramatically in recent decades. In addition to asking specifically about medical and recreational use, both Pew Research Center and Gallup have asked Americans about legalizing marijuana use in a general way.
| Year | Legal | Illegal |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 12 | 84 |
| 1972 | 15 | 81 |
| 1973 | 16 | 78 |
| 1977 | 28 | 66 |
| 1979 | 25 | 70 |
| 1980 | 25 | 70 |
| 1985 | 23 | 73 |
| 1995 | 25 | 73 |
| 2000 | 31 | 64 |
| 2001 | 34 | 62 |
| 2003 | 34 | 64 |
| 2005 | 36 | 60 |
| 2009 | 44 | 54 |
| 2010 | 46 | 50 |
| 2011 | 50 | 46 |
| 2012 | 48 | 50 |
| 2013 | 58 | 39 |
| 2014 | 51 | 47 |
| 2015 | 58 | 40 |
| 2016 | 60 | 39 |
| 2017 | 64 | 34 |
| 2018 | 66 | 32 |
| 2019 | 64 | 34 |
| 2019 | 66 | 33 |
| 2020 | 68 | 32 |
| 2021 | 68 | 32 |
| 2022 | 68 | 31 |
| 2023 | 70 | 29 |
| 2024 | 68 | 31 |
| 2025 | 64 | 33 |
When Gallup last asked this question in 2025, 64% of adults supported legalization. That’s a slight decrease from the 70% who favored legalization in 2023. But it’s about double the 31% who favored it in 2000.
In a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, many Americans said legalizing recreational marijuana has economic and criminal justice benefits. But attitudes were more divided on other potential effects.
- 52% of U.S. adults said legalizing marijuana for recreational use is good for local economies, while 17% said it is bad.
- 42% said legalization makes the criminal justice system fairer, compared with 18% who said it makes the system less fair.
- 27% said legalizing recreational marijuana decreases the use of other drugs like heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, while 29% said it increases use.
- 21% said legalization makes communities safer; 34% said it makes them less safe.
Still, sizable shares said legalization has no impact in each of these areas.
Democrats and adults under 50 were more likely than Republicans and older people to say legalizing marijuana has a positive impact in each of the above areas.
Twenty-four states and D.C. allow small amounts of marijuana for both medical and recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Another 24 states do not permit recreational use but have some type of medical marijuana access program. The products that doctors can prescribe and the types of patients who are eligible vary from place to place. Eight of these states only allow medical products that are low in THC – the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.
Idaho and Kansas don’t allow either recreational or medical use.
| State | FIPS | Marijuana legalization status |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 02 | Recreational and medical use |
| Arizona | 04 | Recreational and medical use |
| California | 06 | Recreational and medical use |
| Colorado | 08 | Recreational and medical use |
| Connecticut | 09 | Recreational and medical use |
| Delaware | 10 | Recreational and medical use |
| District of Columbia | 11 | Recreational and medical use |
| Illinois | 17 | Recreational and medical use |
| Maine | 23 | Recreational and medical use |
| Maryland | 24 | Recreational and medical use |
| Massachusetts | 25 | Recreational and medical use |
| Michigan | 26 | Recreational and medical use |
| Minnesota | 27 | Recreational and medical use |
| Missouri | 29 | Recreational and medical use |
| Montana | 30 | Recreational and medical use |
| Nevada | 32 | Recreational and medical use |
| New Jersey | 34 | Recreational and medical use |
| New Mexico | 35 | Recreational and medical use |
| New York | 36 | Recreational and medical use |
| Ohio | 39 | Recreational and medical use |
| Oregon | 41 | Recreational and medical use |
| Rhode Island | 44 | Recreational and medical use |
| Vermont | 50 | Recreational and medical use |
| Virginia | 51 | Recreational and medical use |
| Washington | 53 | Recreational and medical use |
| Alabama | 01 | Medical use only |
| Arkansas | 05 | Medical use only |
| Florida | 12 | Medical use only |
| Hawaii | 15 | Medical use only |
| Kentucky | 21 | Medical use only |
| Louisiana | 22 | Medical use only |
| Mississippi | 28 | Medical use only |
| Nebraska | 31 | Medical use only |
| New Hampshire | 33 | Medical use only |
| North Dakota | 38 | Medical use only |
| Oklahoma | 40 | Medical use only |
| Pennsylvania | 42 | Medical use only |
| South Dakota | 46 | Medical use only |
| Texas | 48 | Medical use only |
| Utah | 49 | Medical use only |
| West Virginia | 54 | Medical use only |
| Georgia | 13 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Indiana | 18 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Iowa | 19 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| North Carolina | 37 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| South Carolina | 45 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Tennessee | 47 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Wisconsin | 55 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Wyoming | 56 | Medical use – CBD/low-THC program only |
| Idaho | 16 | Not legal/unregulated |
| Kansas | 20 | Not legal/unregulated |
More than half of Americans (53%) live in a place where recreational marijuana use is legal, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2025 population statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
A large majority of Americans have at least one marijuana dispensary in their county, according to a 2024 Center analysis. At the time of the study, there were nearly 15,000 dispensaries nationwide, and 79% of Americans had one in their county. California, Oklahoma, Florida, Colorado and Michigan had the most dispensaries.
Americans are divided over whether marijuana laws in their state are too strict or not strict enough, according to the January 2026 survey. More than a third of U.S. adults (36%) say these laws are about right. Another 21% say they are too strict, while 19% say they are not strict enough. About a quarter (24%) aren’t sure.
Views about the strictness of marijuana laws differ by state. In states where the drug is legal for both medical and recreational use, 47% of adults say marijuana laws are about right. A quarter say they are not strict enough, while only 7% say these laws are too strict. Another 20% say they are not sure.
Note: Shares of respondents who did not answer are not shown.
| Population | Too strict | Not strict enough | About right | Not sure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 21 | 19 | 36 | 24 |
| Legal for medical AND recreational use | 7 | 25 | 47 | 20 |
| Legal for medical use only | 34 | 13 | 25 | 27 |
| Prohibited* | 40 | 10 | 22 | 27 |
Note: Shares of respondents who did not answer are not shown.
In states where the drug is prohibited, four-in-ten say marijuana laws are too strict and 22% say they are about right, while just 10% say they are not strict enough. About a quarter (27%) aren’t sure.
In states where marijuana is legal for medical use only, views are generally similar to those in states where the drug is prohibited.
About half of U.S. adults (51%) say they have ever personally used marijuana, according to the federal government’s 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. By comparison, 65% of adults say they have ever used tobacco products or nicotine vaping devices, and 85% say they have ever consumed alcohol.
While many Americans say they’ve used marijuana in their lifetime, far fewer are current users. In 2024, 23% of adults said they had used marijuana in the prior year, and 16% had used it in the prior month.
Note: Here are the January 2026 survey questions we used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology. This is an update of a post originally published April 26, 2021.
