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Police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
A growing number of states have legalized or decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But the drug remains illegal in other states and under federal law – and police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
Seven-in-ten U.S. teens say anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers. Yet anxiety and depression aren't the only concerns for teens.
Americans’ concerns about prescription drug abuse have risen over the past four years, with some of largest increases coming among well-educated adults. Today, 76% of the public says that prescription drug abuse is an extremely or very serious public health problem in America, compared with 63% who said the same in 2013.
Today, 46% of U.S. adults say they have a family member or close friend who is addicted to drugs or has been in the past – an experience that mostly cuts across demographic and partisan lines.
The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose fatalities in the U.S. rose from 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 1999 to 16.3 in 2015. Increases have come across gender, age and racial and ethnic lines, and rural as well as urban areas have been affected.
Seven-in-ten Americans say government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth. A majority of Americans also say the federal government should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states that allow it. Read the full survey here.
Overall, 48% say they have ever tried marijuana, up from 38% a decade ago. Roughly half in all age groups, except for those 65 and older, say they have tried marijuana.
About one-in-ten (12%) say they have used marijuana in the past year. Age differences are much more pronounced when it comes to the recent use of marijuana: 27% of those younger than 30 say they have used marijuana in the past year, at least three times the percentage in any other age group.
Among those who say they have used marijuana in the past year, 47% say they used it “just for fun,” while 30% say it was for a medical issue; 23% volunteer they used it for medical purposes and also just for fun.
For the first time in more than four decades of polling on the issue, a majority of Americans favor legalizing the use of marijuana. A national survey finds that 52% say that the use of marijuana should be made legal while 45% say it should not.
