FILE - An individual purchases cannabis at a dispensary on the morning that cannabis sales became legal in New Jersey on April 21, 2022, in Paterson, New Jersey. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) There has been increasing support for marijuana legalization in the United States over the past few decades, with a majority of Americans now overwhelmingly in favor, according to polling — and many states enacting laws to allow for its legal use and sale.On the federal level, marijuana remains illegal.
But the most recent poll from Gallup on the subject found that 68% of U.S. adults think marijuana should be legal, a percentage tied for the record high.
Over the past decade, 19 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Meanwhile, 37 states now allow some form of medical cannabis, and only three states have no cannabis access laws on the books.
Gallup has documented opinions on legalizing cannabis over more than 50 years, noting particularly sharp increases in support during the 2000s and 2010s.