Marijuana Usage Surpasses Smoking in the US

According to recent Gallup poll results, more Americans smoke marijuana than cigarettes. The survey also found that marijuana usage in the United States is at an all-time high, skyrocketing by one third in just one year.

A Gallup poll released on August 16th revealed that 16% of respondents admitted to using marijuana, up from 12% in a similar survey conducted a year ago. However, Gallup maintained that this change was not statistically significant. In contrast, a separate poll conducted in July found that only 11% of respondents had smoked cigarettes in the past week. This number has decreased from a year ago, when 16% of respondents said they had smoked a cigarette in the past week. This decline is significant compared to the peak of smoking in the 1950s, when 45% of surveyed adults claimed they were smokers.

Two poll indicators have recently hit new records. The percentage of self-identified users of marijuana is at its highest level since Gallup began tracking the issue in 2013, and the percentage of self-identified smokers hit its lowest level since 1944, when the firm began tracking smoking, according to a recent survey by a public opinion research company. Almost half (48%) of American adults say they have tried marijuana at some point in their lives, compared to just 4% when Gallup first started tracking lifetime marijuana usage in 1969. In the same year, 40% of Americans said they smoked a cigarette in the past week.

As more and more jurisdictions in the United States reform their marijuana laws, the number of consumers of the drug continues to rise. Marijuana is now legalized in some form in 38 states, with six states potentially voting on legalization measures in the November elections. According to the latest measurements from Gallup, 68% of American adults believe that marijuana should be legalized, which is at its highest historical level.

There are more young people who smoke marijuana compared to older people in the United States.

The proportion of young people in the United States who smoke marijuana is highest, with nearly one-third of adults under 35 saying they do. Among adults aged 35 to 54, 16% say they use marijuana, while only 10% of people aged 55 and older say they smoke it. Only 8% of young people say they have smoked a cigarette in the previous week, while 10% of those aged 35 to 54 and 14% of elderly Americans say they have smoked one in the past seven days.

Despite the popularity of measures to reform marijuana policies, there is a division among Americans on how marijuana affects society in the United States. The latest Gallup marijuana survey also found that half of Americans believe that marijuana has an overall negative impact, while 48% believe that marijuana has a positive impact on society.

These findings are from Gallup's annual consumer poll conducted from July 5 to July 26. The survey examined the usage of marijuana and tobacco among 1,013 American adults, with a reported margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

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