America’s Getting Higher: New Data Shows Cannabis Use At All Time High

For years, rising cannabis use in the U.S. was described as a slow normalization. A little more legal access here. A little less stigma there. But new data suggests that framing no longer fits.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), cannabis was the most commonly used drug in 2024, with 22.3% of people aged 12 or older (64.2 million Americans) reporting past-year use.

That’s not just a marginal increase. Only a few years ago, that figure sat closer to 19%, or about 53.2 million people. In a short window, cannabis use expanded by more than 11 million Americans.

Cannabis isn’t so much a niche subculture anymore as it is mainstream behavior. But what exactly is fueling this sudden spike in weed users? 

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, which surveys over 25,000 students and 20,000+ adults annually, shows a detailed look at how cannabis use is changing across the US. 

MTF data shows that flavored cannabis vapes are now the most common form of use among American teenagers who consume cannabis. Among eighth graders alone, there was a 9% increase in those who vaped weed in a single year. 

Researchers point to several reasons for the shift: vaping is easier to conceal, is widely perceived as less harmful than smoking, and offers a range of flavors that appeal to younger users.

But the consumption method is only part of the story. How Americans consume cannabis is evolving—but the deeper shift lies in who is driving usage and what cannabis is replacing in daily life.

For the first time in the MTF panel series (which has tracked substance use since 1976), women aged 19-30 reported higher past-year cannabis use than men. That’s a historic flip. The sex gap has been narrowing for years, with women’s 12-month and 30-day use increasing faster than men’s, particularly in middle adulthood.

Why the shift? Researchers suggest the explanation lies in motivation.

Studies published in the Journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors suggest women use cannabis more often to cope with stress, anxiety, or negative emotions. Men, by contrast, tend to use it for fun or to enhance good moods. When cannabis functions as a coping tool rather than entertainment, usage patterns change—it becomes more consistently embedded into daily routines as a coping mechanism, which is now especially the case for young women, as the MTF data showed. 

For adults aged 35-50, men still report higher use than women, consistent with the past decade. But the trajectory among younger adults suggests the overall percentage of cannabis users in the U.S. will continue climbing as these groups age.

The other major driver? Substitution. A Bloomberg Intelligence report noted that cannabis is increasingly replacing alcohol as state-level legalization expands and perceptions of harm shift. 

American polls have also shown that many users are substituting cannabis for cigarettes and painkillers.

The appeal is straightforward. Compared to alcohol, cannabis offers no hangovers, fewer calories, and different social dynamics. For a growing segment of consumers, cannabis simply fits their lifestyle better than drinking does.

These shifting dynamics amongst U.S. cannabis consumers reflect broader implications for the cannabis industry.

According to Statista, the size of the U.S. cannabis market is massive… and growing. Revenue is expected to hit $47 billion in 2026, with an estimated annual growth rate of 3.36%, pushing market volume to $55.43 billion by 2030.

The cannabis industry in the U.S. already supports 425,002 full-time equivalent jobs and added approximately $149 billion to the economy in 2025. That’s a major economic force.

And the consumer base keeps expanding. The percentage of cannabis users in the U.S. continues to climb, with 47% of Americans having tried cannabis at some point. As legalization spreads to more states and federal policy potentially shifts, the ceiling for U.S. cannabis growth hasn’t been reached.

For businesses, this means broader product diversity, continued retail expansion, and persistent competition between legal and illicit markets. Companies that understand why people are using cannabis — not just how often — will be better positioned to compete.

America is getting higher, and large-scale survey data makes that clear.

The percentage of cannabis users in the U.S. climbed from 19% to 22.3% in a few years. Young women began to outpace men in consumption. An entire generation now treats cannabis as a normal part of adult life rather than something tied to the countercultural.

The data says we’re at an all-time high. The trajectory suggests we haven’t reached the ceiling yet.

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