According to a Gallup poll, 45 percent of Americans admit to having used cannabis at least once – the highest total since Gallup first posed the question 48 years ago. In 1969, when Gallup first asked the question, just 4 percent of respondents admitted to having tried cannabis.
Despite the record total of individuals who admit to trying cannabis, just 12 percent indicated they consumed cannabis regularly – which is a non-meaningful 1 percent drop from their 2016 findings; however it represents a 5 percent increase from their 2013 poll.
The pollsters also found gender, age, and income gaps among those who smoke cannabis regularly and those who have merely experimented. While 48 percent of men and 35 percent of women polled admitted to trying cannabis, 13 percent of men and 7 percent of women said they were regular users. Respondents aged 18 to 29 were more likely to use cannabis regularly – 18 percent – than their older counterparts, with 38 percent admitting to trying cannabis. More than half, 51 percent, of respondents 30 to 49-years-old said they had tried cannabis, but just 10 percent said they were regular users. Nearly half, 49 percent, of individuals aged 50-64 said they had tried cannabis, comparted to 8 percent who used it regularly. Just 3 percent of respondents aged 65 or older said they used cannabis consistently, with 23 percent admitting to trying it.
According to the data, respondents with lower incomes, less than $30,000 annually, reported using cannabis at higher rates, 13 percent, than those making $30,000 to $74,999 (10 percent) and those making more than $75,000 (9 percent).
The poll included 1,021 adults throughout the U.S. and the District of Columbia.