Half of Americans have tried marijuana and most say their experiences were positive

A recent YouGov poll shows that a little over half of Americans (52%) have tried marijuana. Among those who have tried marijuana, 43% have used it in the past year, and among those, 72% have used it in the past month.

Which groups of Americans are most likely to have tried marijuana? Among the groups examined, adults between the ages of 45 and 64 are most likely to say they’ve tried marijuana (63%), followed by liberals (60%), Americans who live in the Western U.S. (56%), and white Americans (56%). Groups that were least likely to report having used marijuana include 18- to 29-year-olds (37%), Black Americans (44%), conservatives (45%), and Americans living in the Northeast (48%).

Americans who live in one of the 18 states where recreational marijuana is currently legal are no more likely to have ever tried marijuana than Americans in states where marijuana isn’t recreationally legalized.

How frequently do Americans use marijuana? About half of those who have ever used marijuana say they typically use it less than once a year. The next most commonly selected response was the available option with the highest frequency of marijuana use: 12% say they use marijuana several times a day. Another 15% say they use it about once a week. [Read more at YouGovAmerica]