As more states are passing laws allowing marijuana for recreational purposes, Americans increasingly support the legalization of both medical and recreational cannabis. Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults oppose marijuana legalization entirely. An overwhelming 88% of Americans advocate for its legalization either for medical or recreational use.
Almost six-in-ten Americans (57%) believe marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational purposes, while around a third (32%) support its legalization only for medical use.
Just 11% of Americans remain opposed to marijuana legalization altogether.
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey conducted from January 16-21, 2024, among 5,140 adults, opinions on marijuana legalization have remained relatively stable over the past five years.
Impact of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
While the majority of Americans favor marijuana legalization, there are differing views on the consequences of legalizing it for recreational use.
Around half of Americans (52%) perceive the legalization of recreational marijuana as beneficial for local economies, while only 17% view it negatively, and 29% believe it has no significant impact.
Additionally, more adults see legalizing recreational marijuana as improving rather than worsening the fairness of the criminal justice system (42% versus 18%), with 38% indicating it has no effect.
However, opinions diverge on its impact on the use of other drugs and community safety:
- Regarding the use of other drugs, approximately equal proportions believe it increases (29%) as decreases (27%) their use, with 42% seeing no impact.
- On community safety, more Americans think legalizing recreational marijuana makes communities less safe (34%) than safer (21%), while 44% believe it has no effect.
- Partisan Disparities on the Impact of Recreational Marijuana Use
Deep partisan divides emerge concerning the consequences of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes:
- Democrats and Democratic-leaning individuals tend to view recreational marijuana legalization more positively, with majorities supporting its positive effects on local economies (64%) and the fairness of the criminal justice system (58%).
- In contrast, fewer Republicans and Republican-leaning individuals perceive the positive effects, with only 41% seeing it as beneficial for local economies and 27% believing it enhances the fairness of the criminal justice system.
- Republicans are more likely than Democrats to foresee negative outcomes from legalizing recreational marijuana, such as increased use of other drugs (42% versus 17%) and decreased community safety (48% versus 21%).
- Demographic and Partisan Differences in Views of Marijuana Legalization
Significant age and partisan differences persist in attitudes toward marijuana legalization, although small proportions across demographic groups entirely oppose it:
- Older adults, particularly those aged 75 and older, are less supportive of marijuana legalization compared to younger age groups.
- Republicans remain less supportive than Democrats of both medical and recreational marijuana legalization.
- Ideological disparities within each party are also evident.
- Views of Marijuana Legalization by Age within Parties
In addition to differences by party and age, views on marijuana legalization also vary within each party:
While majorities of Republicans across all age groups support at least medical marijuana legalization, younger Republicans show higher levels of support for both medical and recreational use.
Similarly, while most Democrats across all age groups support marijuana legalization for both medical and recreational purposes, older Democrats are less likely to do so.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Views of Marijuana Legalization
There are notable differences among racial and ethnic groups in their perceptions of marijuana legalization:
- Hispanic and Asian adults are more likely than Black and White adults to view the legalization of recreational marijuana negatively in terms of safety and use of other drugs.
- Despite these variations, substantial shares of Americans across all racial and ethnic groups believe that legalizing recreational marijuana positively impacts the economy and criminal justice system.
- Age Gap in Views of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana.
Younger Americans hold more positive views on legalizing recreational marijuana compared to older generations:
- Clear majorities of adults under 30 see legalization as beneficial for local economies (71%) and fairer for the criminal justice system (59%), in contrast to only a third of those aged 65 and older.
There are also significant age differences in opinions on how legalizing recreational marijuana affects other drug use and community safety.
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