---
title: "Smoked Marijuana"
description: "Four-in-ten American adults say they have tried marijuana."
date: "2010-04-09"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2010/04/09/smoked-marijuana/"
---

# Smoked Marijuana

While there is broad support for legalizing medical marijuana, and increasing support for general legalization, only four-in-ten American adults say they havetried marijuana. The majority (58%), however, say they have never smoked the illegal drug. More men (48%) than women (31%) say they have tried marijuana. Young adults, ages 18 to 29, are the most likely to have smoked marijuana (49%), but all Americans younger than age 65 — adults ages 30 to 49 (47%) and adults ages 50 to 64 (42%) — are nearly as likely to have tried marijuana. Democrats (41%) are more likely to have tried marijuana than Republicans (32%) — though independents are the most likely (44%) — and the religiously unaffiliated (59%) are far more likely than white evangelical Protestants (28%) to have smoked. There is not, however, much difference along income, education or geographical lines with regard to having ever smoked marijuana. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1548/broad-public-support-for-legalizing-medical-marijuana)