What are they smoking?

Marijuana use … by the numbers

This article was published on 09.02.10

If Proposition 19 (the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010) passes this November, it would be legal in California for those 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal consumption. While there is much debate as to how much tax revenue will be generated by all those newly legal sales, there is no denying that a significant part of the population will be enjoying a much more relaxing “consumption” of the psychoactive plant.

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (data from 2007 and 2008):

• 15.2 million non-medicinal marijuana users (age 12 and older) in the U.S.

• 15.2 million non-medicinal marijuana users (age 12 and older) in the U.S. (with 3.3 million in California).

• 3.9 million Americans 12 and older use marijuana recreationally on a daily basis.

• By comparison, 129 million Americans drink alcohol, with 58.1 million of those occasionally engaging in binge drinking and 17.3 million of them being heavy drinkers.