Forget Colorado or Washington — tiny Rhode Island is the marijuana capital of the United States, at least as measured by the percent of state residents who regularly use marijuana.
Map: Marijuana use by state
State-level statistics from the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (rather unfortunately acronymed NSDUH) show that just over 1 in 8 Rhode Island residents over age 12 smoke marijuana monthly. This is more than three times the rate in Kansas, where only 4 percent of residents regularly indulge.
Nationally about 7 percent of Americans over age 12 have used marijuana in the past month. Western states tend to have the highest rate of usage, at 9 percent, followed by the Northeast. The South has the lowest overall rate at 5.83 percent.
In what will surely not be a surprise to anyone who has ever been young, 18- to 25-year-olds use marijuana the most. Nearly 19 percent of that group has used marijuana in the past month, according to the NSDUH. But again, the state-to-state variation in those numbers are considerable. More than one third of Vermonters in that age bracket regularly use marijuana, compared to less than 10 percent of Utah's 18- to 25-year-olds.
But usage rates drop off considerably for people age 26 and older: Only 5 percent of Americans in that age group smoke marijuana regularly. Alaska's 26-and-over crowd is the most likely to regularly use marijuana, at 11.18 percent. To put it another way, Alaska's adults are more likely to use marijuana than Utah's college-age crowd.
Both Oregon and Alaska have marijuana legalization measures on their ballots this fall. Not coincidentally, these are the two states with the highest rates of 26-and-over marijuana use.
Marijuana use in the past month (%), by age group and state
| State |
Total, 12+ |
12 to 17 |
18 to 25 |
25+ |
| Total U.S. |
7.13 |
7.55 |
18.89 |
5.05 |
| Alabama |
5.07 |
5.62 |
14.34 |
3.38 |
| Alaska |
12.97 |
10.01 |
24.77 |
11.18 |
| Arizona |
7.22 |
8.37 |
17.20 |
5.33 |
| Arkansas |
5.30 |
6.01 |
14.71 |
3.61 |
| California |
9.08 |
8.83 |
21.74 |
6.74 |
| Colorado |
10.41 |
10.47 |
26.81 |
7.63 |
| Connecticut |
8.44 |
8.72 |
23.66 |
6.01 |
| Delaware |
7.49 |
9.58 |
20.95 |
4.95 |
| District of Columbia |
10.45 |
9.35 |
24.49 |
7.24 |
| Florida |
6.65 |
7.03 |
19.02 |
4.73 |
| Georgia |
5.96 |
7.20 |
16.65 |
3.88 |
| Hawaii |
7.57 |
9.69 |
18.15 |
5.69 |
| Idaho |
5.29 |
6.21 |
13.09 |
3.77 |
| Illinois |
7.03 |
6.94 |
20.27 |
4.79 |
| Indiana |
6.20 |
6.25 |
16.78 |
4.31 |
| Iowa |
6.10 |
6.65 |
16.84 |
4.13 |
| Kansas |
4.06 |
5.47 |
11.34 |
2.55 |
| Kentucky |
5.63 |
6.06 |
17.35 |
3.65 |
| Louisiana |
4.62 |
5.01 |
13.00 |
3.02 |
| Maine |
8.38 |
8.94 |
22.66 |
6.29 |
| Maryland |
5.81 |
7.54 |
17.53 |
3.66 |
| Massachusetts |
9.37 |
10.58 |
25.77 |
6.34 |
| Michigan |
8.89 |
8.89 |
22.13 |
6.61 |
| Minnesota |
6.30 |
7.27 |
17.58 |
4.33 |
| Mississippi |
5.80 |
6.32 |
15.86 |
3.88 |
| Missouri |
5.94 |
7.28 |
17.41 |
3.83 |
| Montana |
10.45 |
9.56 |
26.51 |
7.94 |
| Nebraska |
5.51 |
6.53 |
14.83 |
3.74 |
| Nevada |
8.36 |
8.77 |
20.01 |
6.44 |
| New Hampshire |
8.37 |
9.61 |
26.37 |
5.41 |
| New Jersey |
6.05 |
6.85 |
19.26 |
3.96 |
| New Mexico |
9.14 |
9.82 |
21.35 |
6.94 |
| New York |
8.24 |
7.86 |
21.35 |
5.98 |
| North Carolina |
6.49 |
7.69 |
19.28 |
4.24 |
| North Dakota |
5.15 |
6.02 |
14.44 |
3.07 |
| Ohio |
7.37 |
7.53 |
19.22 |
5.39 |
| Oklahoma |
6.04 |
6.37 |
14.14 |
4.55 |
| Oregon |
12.16 |
9.86 |
25.81 |
10.25 |
| Pennsylvania |
6.18 |
6.87 |
17.54 |
4.20 |
| Rhode Island |
13.00 |
12.44 |
30.16 |
9.74 |
| South Carolina |
7.20 |
7.24 |
19.24 |
5.15 |
| South Dakota |
5.79 |
6.44 |
13.95 |
4.28 |
| Tennessee |
5.41 |
5.92 |
14.70 |
3.81 |
| Texas |
5.11 |
6.32 |
13.76 |
3.30 |
| Utah |
4.41 |
5.12 |
9.83 |
3.04 |
| Vermont |
12.86 |
13.36 |
33.18 |
9.34 |
| Virginia |
5.54 |
6.61 |
17.06 |
3.44 |
| Washington |
10.21 |
9.45 |
23.44 |
8.11 |
| West Virginia |
5.27 |
6.63 |
17.55 |
3.29 |
| Wisconsin |
6.69 |
7.78 |
18.18 |
4.65 |
| Wyoming |
5.68 |
6.00 |
13.06 |
4.36 |
Christopher Ingraham is a data journalist focusing primarily on issues of politics, policy and economics. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center.
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customFields- published 1407251247/1407251247000/1407251247 tracking: {authors=Christopher Ingraham, blog_name=wonkblog, content_category=Business, in_url_headline=where-americans-smoke-marijuana-the-most, post_id=97050, section={section=business, subsection=null}, show_ads=true, show_comments=true} allow_comments: true published_date:Aug 5, 2014 3:07:27 PM close date: Aug 19, 2014 3:07:27 PM