A total of 42% of U.S. adults have consumed cannabis and plan to do so again in the future, according to a new report.
The report, “Cannabis Consumers in America 2023: Part 1: An Overview of Consumers Today,” was published by New Frontier Data in May. The research surveyed 5,534 U.S. adults between Feb. 17 and Feb. 26.
That 42% of U.S. adults who have consumed cannabis and plan to do so again is a 3% increase from 39% in New Frontier’s 2022 report. Among the survey participants, 37% reported to be current consumers (at least 1x annually) while 5% reported to be lapsed cannabis consumers, meaning they consume on a less-than-annual basis, but plan to do so again.
Furthermore, 30% reported having never consumed cannabis and do not intend to do so – a 4% decrease from 34% in last year’s report.
Another 15% reported to be “potential” consumers, meaning they never have consumed cannabis before but are interested in trying it – up from 13% in 2022 – while 13% were reported to be former consumers who don’t intend to do so again.
Among current cannabis consumers, 24% are between the ages of 25-34, 23% are aged 35-44, and 18% are aged 45-54. Fifteen percent of those aged 55-64 reported to be current cannabis consumers, and that figure drops to 10% for both the 18-24 and 65+ age demographics.
By gender, 54% of men reported to be current cannabis consumers, compared to 46% of women.
By political affiliation, 36% of current cannabis consumers reported to be “strongly liberal” or “moderately liberal,” compared to 29% who reported to be “strongly conservative” or “moderately conservative.” A comparably sizeable group (28%) of survey participants reported to be politically independent, while 7% said they were not political.
“Cannabis consumers are diverse with users spread across age groups, genders, economic brackets and political affiliations,” New Frontier Data CEO Gary Allen said in a news release. “With 42% of U.S. adults having used cannabis and likely to do so again, and another 15% expressing interest in trying cannabis in the future, acceptance and receptiveness continues to grow, creating massive opportunities in both new and emerging markets.”
New Frontier Data’s complete report is available for free download here.
