Over 73 % of Americans have legal access to cannabis

More than 188.7 million people over the age of 18 in the United States live in a state or territory where cannabis has been legalized, whether for medical purposes or adult use. This means that over 73 % of the U.S. adult population has access in one way or another to legal cannabis, according to an analysis by GrownIn.

California and Illinois have the highest number of adults over 18 with access to the medical and adult consumer markets. New York, which rivals Illinois, could open sales as early as this year and join the ranks of adult consumers.

More purely medical states

Among the states that report their figures on patients treated with cannabis, the average enrollment rate in states where only medical cannabis is legal is 1.84 %, the’Oklahoma leading the way, with over 12 % of its population enrolled in the medical program. The state with the lowest number of patients is West Virginia, with 0.37 % of the population over 18 enrolled.

For states with both a medical and an adult-use market, the average medical patient enrollment rate is 2.16 %. The state with the highest percentage of its adult population enrolled as medical patients is New Mexico, with 7.97 %. The lowest is’Alaska, with only 0.07 % of the adult population registered.

This part of the data is limited, however, as seven states with medical programs did not report their figures. Two states - California and Louisiana - also do not keep track of these figures. In addition, patient figures for medical programs in Virginia and South Dakota are not public records.

Unconditional support for legalization

According to the latest Pew Research Center published in April 2021, 91 % from the Americans believe that cannabis should be legalized for both medical and recreational purposes. Concerning the legalization of cannabis for adults only, 69% from the Americans were in favor at the same date.

In 2016, «only» 75 million Americans had legal access to cannabis.