Fully Half Of American Adults Have Tried Marijuana, With Current Cannabis Smoking Outpacing Cigarettes, Gallup Poll Shows – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Fully half of Americans have tried marijuana, according to a new Gallup poll—and more people now actively smoke cannabis than tobacco cigarettes. Additionally, a majority say they are not especially concerned about the effects of adults regularly using marijuana

The survey, published on Thursday, found that about one in six U.S. adults (17 percent) say that they currently smoke cannabis, while separate recent Gallup polling shows that just 11 percent say they smoke cigarettes.

Further, the marijuana question—which asked specifically about whether people “smoke” the substance—likely does not reflect overall current cannabis use given the range of non-smokable products that people consume such as edibles, tinctures and vapes. But when it comes to smoking, it’s become clear that Americans are increasingly opting for marijuana over cigarettes.

Looking at generational data, the trend appears likely to continue. Broken down by age, 29 percent of those 18-34 say they currently smoke marijuana. In contrast, a Gallup survey from last year showed that 12 percent of people 18-29 smoke cigarettes. (The age groupings used in the polls are slightly different but comparable).

Meanwhile, with nearly half of the states in the country now having legalized marijuana, the new poll shows lifetime use has hit a record high of 50 percent, up just two percentage points from 2022 but statistically higher than 2019, when 45 percent said that they’ve tried cannabis.

When…