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SHADAC and UMN Cannabis Research Center (CRC) Release New Brief: Cannabis Use Across the States in the Early Legalization Era

Colin Planalp, Research Fellow
Elliot Walsh, Research Dissemination Coordinator
March 12, 2025
Cannabis Use Across the States in the Early Legalization Era cover page

In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize recreational cannabis for adult use. Many other states passed their own legislation to legalize non-medical cannabis use in the years that followed – by the end of 2024, the total number sat at 24 states and DC. Currently, all states with legal cannabis for non-medical use have restricted use to adults age 21 and older.

Americans have been reporting increased cannabis use even before states began legalizing recreational use – the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that prevalence of self-reported cannabis use began increasing as early as the late 2000s. 

With cannabis use beginning to rise even before non-medical use was legalized for adults 21 and older, it raises some important questions:

  • Is the increasing prevalence of cannabis use seen primarily in states that have legalized, or is the prevalence increasing in all states no matter the current legal status?
  • Do we see increased self-reported cannabis use in both adults and underage youth despite age-restrictions in legalization states?
  • Are there different trends in cannabis use among adults and underage youth in legalization vs non-legalization states?

Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Senior Research Fellow Colin Planalp from SHADAC and UMN’s Cannabis Research Center explores these questions and more in his latest brief. 

Self reported cannabis use in the past 30 days by age group. Long description found in first three paragraphs of the section in brief titled "Self-reported Cannabis Use by Age Subgroups"

“The era of state legalization of cannabis for non-medical use by adults has been marked by growth in the prevalence of its use,” Planalp says. “It will be important to continue to conduct ongoing research as the cannabis policy landscape evolves, the cannabis marketplace matures, and the culture around cannabis use develops in new ways.” 

Latest Cannabis Brief: Cannabis Use Prevalence by State and Other Breakdowns

Findings from this brief suggest that while adult cannabis use grew from 2012-2013 to 2018-2019, prevalence of use by underage youth held steady. 

Read about the other findings on legalization vs non-legalization states, along with further age subgroup breakdowns, in the full brief: “Cannabis Use Across the States in the Early Legalization Era”.