Self-reported marijuana use among U.S. adults has reached a record high of 17 percent, even as Americans remain sharply divided over whether the drug’s impact is positive or negative.
The figures come from Gallup’s latest annual Consumption Habits poll. This year’s 17 percent matches the previous high recorded in 2023, when the same share of Americans said they used marijuana.
After that 2023 peak, the rate dipped to 13 percent in 2024, edged up to 14 percent in 2025, and then climbed another three percentage points in 2026.
The latest result is also twice the level Gallup found when it first began asking about marijuana use in 2013, when seven percent of Americans said they used the drug.
Gallup’s survey question reads: ‘Keeping in mind that all of your answers in this survey are confidential, do you, yourself, smoke marijuana?’
The wording does not measure how often someone uses marijuana, and it may leave room for different interpretations, including among people who may not consider occasional use, such as smoking a joint, to qualify.
Gallup also asked Americans how they view marijuana’s broader effect, finding that 47 percent believe it has a ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ positive impact.
Nearly the same share, 46 percent, said marijuana has a ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ negative effect. The remaining seven percent either took a neutral position or did not provide an answer.
Marijuana use among American adults is at an all-time high of 17 percent, according to Gallup polling. A man is pictured smoking a huge joint in New York City’s Washington Square Park
Marijuana use has more than doubled since Gallup began tracking it in 2013, when just seven percent of Americans reported using the drug. Dried marijuana buds are pictured
According to Gallup’s findings, marijuana’s increased use among Americans has come alongside a decrease in alcohol consumption.
Alcohol use reached a recent 15-year high of 67 percent in 2022, which was in the range of historical highs since 1939, according to Gallup’s data. The all-time high was 71 percent from 1976 through 1978.
Recent alcohol consumption rates decreased to 62 percent in 2023, then 58 percent in 2024 before reaching an all-time low of 54 percent in 2025. The 2026 rate matched last year’s historic low of 54 percent.
Alcohol drinkers are also more likely to use marijuana, according to Gallup’s findings.
Among those who answered yes to consuming alcohol, 21 percent also reported marijuana use. Just 12 percent of people who said they do not drink alcohol said they do use marijuana.
Another indicator of marijuana consumption is age, as use is most pronounced among Americans under 50.
One in four Americans between the ages of 30 to 49 consume marijuana, and 23 percent of those aged 18 to 29 partake.
One in ten Americans between the ages of 50 to 64 take the drug, and just one in 20 above the age of 65 are users.
Marijuana use is most prevalent in Americans under the age of 50. One in four Americans between the ages of 30 to 49 use the drug. A woman is pictured smoking a joint
Marijuana use has increased in recent years as alcohol consumption has dropped. A marijuana plant is pictured
Marijuana use is also most pronounced among individuals with less education and in lower-income households.
One in five non-college graduates reported taking the drug, while the rate was 11 percent among college graduates.
Among households that earn less than $50,000 per year, 24 percent reported using marijuana. Among households that earn more than $100,000 per year, the rate was 13 percent.
Marijuana’s popularity has also climbed as cigarette use steadily declined over the past few decades.
Fifteen years ago, 22 percent of Americans reported smoking cigarettes. The rate has halved since then, hitting 11 percent in 2022 before climbing one point the next year then going back down to 11 percent in every year since 2024.
The all-time high rate of cigarette use among Americans was 45 percent in 1954, according to Gallup’s data.
Marijuana’s increased use comes as 24 US states have fully legalized the drug for recreational use, and an additional 22 states have legalized it for medical use or decriminalized it, according to DISA’s Marijuana Legality Map. Marijuana remains fully illegal in just four states.
Under federal law, marijuana remains a Schedule I substance, which the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) defines: ‘as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.’
Marijuana’s popularity has soared as the vast majority of US states have either legalized the drug for recreational or medical use, or decriminalized it
Marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under federal law, which is the most restrictive drug categorization. A pro-marijuana American flag is pictured in front of the White House
Examples of other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
In December 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Justice to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III, which the DEA defines: ‘as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.’
That would place marijuana alongside drugs such as codeine, ketamine and anabolic steroids.
In April, the Department of Justice placed state-licensed medical marijuana and FDA-approved cannabinoid products under the Schedule III classification to abide by Trump’s executive order.
Federal hearings to reclassify marijuana more broadly began on June 29 and concluded on July 15.
A final decision is now in the hands of Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius, who is currently working on a formal recommendation on whether the drug as a whole qualifies for rescheduling.
