Seattle, USA – July 14, 2016: People passing a State Legal Marijuana shop sign on 2nd avenue late in … [+]
Although marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, most Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for medical or recreational purposes.
In its latest analysis on the status of marijuana in the United States, the American think-tank Pew Research Center has found that 74% of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use, while 54% of Americans live in a state where the recreational use of marijuana is legal.
After Colorado and Washington passed legislation in 2012, a total of 24 states (along with the District of Columbia) have legalized the recreational use of marijuana as of February 2024. Additionally, 14 states legalized marijuana for medical purposes only, while the remaining 12 states have enacted laws allowing restricted access to marijuana products with minimal or no THC.
The findings of this research demonstrate the increasing spread of marijuana legality throughout the country, following the state-level model. This trend is further supported by a recent Gallup poll indicating that 70% of Americans support marijuana legalization.
The Pew Research Center’s analysis also focuses on the distribution of marijuana dispensaries across the country and found that three-quarters of all dispensaries in the country (76%) are located in states where recreational marijuana use is legal, while 23% of them have opened in states that allow only medical marijuana.
The remaining 1% of dispensaries are located in states with regulations for low-THC or CBD-only products, and half of the residents in these states live in a county with at least one dispensary.
This trend is mainly attributed to the outcome of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp with a THC level below 0.3% and contributed to the production of non-intoxicating marijuana compounds like CBD products, as well as products with milder intoxicating effects like marijuana, such as delta-8 THC products, which exist in a gray market area as they are neither federally legal nor illegal. However, it’s worth noting that states have started to regulate or even ban these latter products despite their growing popularity, especially in those states that have not yet legalized marijuana.
Among the legal marijuana states, California leads with 3,659 dispensaries, comprising a quarter of all dispensaries in the U.S. However, when we examine it closely, Oklahoma stands out, boasting the highest number of marijuana dispensaries per capita of any state: 36 dispensaries for every 100,000 residents. Overall, 79% of Americans live in a county with at least one of the nearly 15,000 marijuana dispensaries across the nation.
Interestingly, The Pew Research Center’s analysis reveals concentrations of dispensaries near borders between states with differing levels of permissiveness regarding marijuana.
“Overall, one in every five dispensaries in the U.S. is located within 20 miles of a state border. And 29% of these border dispensaries adjoin a neighboring state with less permissive cannabis laws,” the research reads.
The legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana also has implications for the real estate market.
The analysis further reveals that in four states where marijuana is legalized for both recreational and medical use – Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia – areas with high concentrations of dispensaries have median annual household incomes at least $20,000 lower compared to areas with low concentrations of dispensaries. However, the situation is different in New Hampshire and New York, as areas with many dispensaries have median household incomes around $20,000 or more higher than those with few dispensaries.