Recreational Marijuana Statistics
Recreational Cannabis Statistics From 2025-2024 – 2018-2019
Despite 62% of all Americans supporting either some extent of legalization or complete legalization, marijuana remains illegal at a federal level in the United States. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 6 in every ten Americans supports cannabis legalization. These numbers have more than doubled since the year 2000. At that time, only about 31% supported legalization efforts.
When it comes to cannabis SEO agency, there is a lot of hair-splitting, so to speak, as the population argues over all the tedious, little discrepancies regarding the herb. Some people support legalization only as long as it is strictly available for medical purposes. Others support the mere decriminalization of marijuana, while there is a portion that also supports full legalization, including both medical and recreational marijuana.
Regardless, an overwhelming number of states have accepted some sort of legalization of marijuana, and as legalization spreads throughout the country, support tends to increase. So far, ten states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, including Colorado, Washington, Michigan, Nevada, Oregan, Vermont, Massachusetts, and more. Over half of the United States have already legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Even Guam and Puerto Rico have made cannabis legal, albeit medically including Maryland.
There are many generational and social gaps between supporters of marijuana legalization efforts. According to the Pew Research Center survey, 74% of marijuana legalization supporters are millennials. 63% of supports belong to Generation X. Baby Boomers make up another 54% of total cannabis legalization supporters. Although they’ve become significantly more open to the idea within the last year, the so-called Silent Generation makes up 39% of legalization supporters, but either this number is growing or this demographic is decreasing – probably both.
Furthermore, when legalization support is compared between America’s two political parties, 45% of all Republicans are in support for some level of marijuana legalization, according to the Pew Research survey, while 51% opposed legalization. These statistics are still hopeful, however, as they have risen from 39% back in 2015. Meanwhile, members of independent parties, who tend to lean towards the “right,” are far more likely to support marijuana legalization efforts. 59% of right-leaning independents support legalization.
Cannabis legalization is not only the reason for vast social debate, however. Financial statistics also come into play, as cannabis legalization often impacts local and even national economies significantly. In 2014, recreational Cannabis sales soared to $11,670 million. Since then, even more states have become legalized. in 2017, Colorado, alone, pulled in $247,368,473 in tax revenues from marijuana sales for the entire year. Similarly, Massachusetts expects cannabis to boost their annual tax revenue up to $63 million per year.
Many outspoken individuals in support of marijuana legalization claim that this money will go towards improving national infrastructure, starting at the state level. In fact, Colorago, one of the first states to become completely legalized, has reported spending over $40 million of their cannabis marketing agency strategies for marijuana-derived tax revenue on capital construction projects for various schools, pouring the money into the Marijuana Cash Fund Program. Moreover, legalization in Colorado has created a wide array of jobs, from budtenders, trimmers, growers, marijuana SEO experts, salesman, dispensary clerks, and even entrepreneurs, coming forth with new and innovative cannabis-based or smoking products.
Eventually, as support for various forms of legalization measures increases, marijuana sales are expected to overtake those of cigarettes.
The generous pricing of cannabis, overall weakening of cigarettes and the fact that many people are making a switch from cigarettes to marijuana in legal states are all contributing factors to this decrease in tobacco sales. Considering that marijuana has caused absolutely zero deaths or illnesses since human beings first began smoking it, perhaps it is a good sign that people are starting to take care of themselves, dropping deadly cigarettes in favor of the herb.
Finally, given the success of most states’ legalization efforts, stocks in cannabis are sky-rocketing.
As we await the inevitable boom in cannabis stocks as marijuana becomes more legal all across the board, buying and owning stocks in this industry could become more lucrative than buying, trading and owning those of huge corporations, like Amazon. As legalization sweeps North America, Canada has already become legal all across the country, also contributing to the rise in stocks in the cannabis industry and supporting the foreshadowing of an oncoming wave of full legalization in the United States. We can only anticipate what that wave will entail but one thing is for sure: it is definitely coming, and isn’t very far away for complete legalization of recreational marijuana statistically.