Marijuana Statistics USA 2021

As you’re probably already aware, different states have very different laws surrounding whether or not you can grow your own cannabis; whether that be for recreational or medical purposes. What’s more, different US states also have varying rules and regulations surrounding possession of marijuana, with some laws specifically focused on the THC content of the cannabis.  

In this article, we share all of the most up-to-date USA Marijuana Statistics, including which states allow you to grow your own cannabis, where in the US cannabis possession is legal, society’s views on marijuana use and more, with our key findings being:

• 19 states in the US currently allow you to grow your own cannabis at home.
• It’s legal to possess cannabis for medical purposes in 37 states, 12 of which also allow use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
• Colorado appears to be the cannabis capital of the US, with 2 in every 5 people searching online for dispensaries last year. 
• When asked to complete the statement “Cannabis is…”, over a quarter of Americans gave a positive response. 

Which US States Allow You to Grow Your Own Cannabis?

 

Currently (as of January 6th 2021), the following 19 US states allow you to grow your own cannabis at home:

1. Alaska (medical and recreational purposes) 
2. Arizona (medical only)
3. California (medical and recreational purposes) 
4. Colorado (medical and recreational purposes) 
5. Hawaii (medical only)
6. Maine (medical and recreational purposes) 
7. Massachusetts (medical and recreational purposes) 
8. Michigan (medical and recreational purposes) 
9. Missouri (medical only)
10. Montana (medical only)
11. Nevada (medical and recreational purposes) 
12. New Mexico (medical only)
13. Oklahoma (medical only)
14. Oregon (medical and recreational purposes) 
15. Rhode Island (medical only)
16. Vermont (medical and recreational purposes) 
17. Washington (medical only)
18. Washington, D.C. (recreational purposes only) 
19. Illinois (medical and recreational)

Marijuana Statistics: Laws in Different States 

 

As you can see, 10 US states allow you to grow your own cannabis at home for both recreational and medical purposes. 8 states only allow you to grow cannabis in your own home for medical purposes and in Washington D.C, you can grow it for recreational use but not for medical purposes.

Many of these states also limit the number of plants you may grow in your home at any one time, so it’s always worth checking the exact laws provided by your state before starting to grow your own. Some states, such as Hawaii, require you register with the state before growing cannabis in your home. On top of this, there are also age restrictions involved which vary state by state.

If your state does not appear on this list, that means they do not currently permit home-growing of cannabis for any purposes. However, you may still be able to use it for medical purposes if your state appears on the list below.

Which States Allow You to Use Cannabis for Medical Purposes in the US?

The possession of medical marijuana is legal in 37 states, with some states allowing cannabis only for medical use and others allowing the use of marijuana for both recreational and medical purposes. The map below shows which states have legalised marijuana possession and the purposes for which it’s allowed. 

It’s worth noting that different possession limits and restrictions apply, so it’s wise to always check your state’s laws before coming into possession of marijuana. 

Marijuana Google Searches Trends in the USA

As you can see from the graph below, searches for marijuana in the US peaked during November 2020 when states such as New Jersey and Arizona voted to legalize it for personal use. 

Data obtained from Google Trends 

At the start of December, another peak in searches can be seen. This was around the time when the US House passed the federal cannabis decriminalisation bill which decriminalised cannabis at a national level for the first time in US history.

Marijuana Use Statistics in the US 2021

Now let’s take a look at the popularity of cannabis in different US states. 

Which American State Uses Cannabis the Most?

Colorado appears to be the cannabis capital of the US, with the term ‘dispensaries’ being searched for online by approximately half of the population of Colorado in the past year (around 2 in every 5 people). Nevada and Oregon follow next, as around 1 in 5 people made online searches for dispensaries in the last year.

Interestingly, ‘dispensaries’ was searched for by approximately 1 in every 25 people in Wyoming last year, which may come as a surprise given that Wyoming has some of the strictest cannabis laws in the United States.

To gather this information, we used the online tool Keyword Finder.

*It’s important to note that the number of searches made does not necessarily correlate with the number of people who conduct the searches, some individuals may conduct the same search multiple times. 

Also note: Search volumes for the term ‘Dispensaries’ were unavailable for Missouri, so we were unable to include this state in our keyword analysis. 

Survey of Attitudes Towards Cannabis in the USA 2021

To find out what Americans think of cannabis in 2021, we conducted a survey asking 1,000 US adults to complete the statement ‘marijuana is…’. 

The results were as follows: 

• 27% of Americans described cannabis in a positive way, saying things such as Cannabis is.. “a pain reliever”, “good”, “useful” and even “a gift from nature”. 
• 18% of responses were negative stating that Cannabis is.. “Not safe”, “a gateway drug”, “shameful” and even “killing our children”. 
• The rest of the responses were mostly informational themes relating the legality of the drug, it’s qualities (eg. “a plant”) or simply neutral standpoints (eg. cannabis is… “fine”). 

Survey methodology: This survey was conducted using Google Surveys and the population was obtained from this source. The full dataset can be found here.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed these marijuana fun facts and marijuana statistics in the USA. Be sure to check out our article on Global CBD Statistics or head over to our blogpost on Marijuana Legalisation for more information about the legalisation of marijuana in the US and Canada,