Marijuana is officially leading the pack for the most-used daily drug among Americans.New data from the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), reveals that there are 21.4 million daily or near-daily marijuana users in the U.S.This surpasses the 19.9 million people who smoke cigarettes and the 17.2 million who consume alcohol.IS DRINKING EVERY DAY ALCOHOLISM? EXPERTS EXPLAIN WHERE CULTURE AND ADDICTION COLLIDEThe annual federal survey of Americans age 12 and older defines daily or near-daily use as consuming marijuana on 300 or more days in the past year.Daily cigarette smokers were characterized as those who smoked on all 30 days of the past month.The number of Americans using marijuana daily or almost daily rose about 21% between 2022 and 2025.
(iStock)The number of Americans using marijuana daily or almost daily rose about 21% between 2022 and 2025 — from 17.7 million to approximately 21.4 million.This amounts to an increase of about 3.7 million frequent users.The biggest jump occurred between 2021 and 2022 with an increase of roughly 2.8 million users, according to SAMSHA.This pattern in higher marijuana use is driven mostly by adults, particularly those age 26 and older, rather than teenagers.CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIESBetween 2021 and 2025, the number of adults 18 and older using marijuana daily or almost daily increased about 22%, from 17.2 million to 20.9 million.Although marijuana is now the most commonly used substance on a daily or near-daily basis, alcohol remains the most widely used substance overall.
During the previous month, about 129 million people drank alcohol while 43.8 million used marijuana.General marijuana use rose from 13.2% to 15.1% from 2021 to 2025.(iStock)Cigarette and broader tobacco product use has been on a decline, decreasing from 20.1% of Americans in 2021 to 15.9% in 2025.
Meanwhile, general marijuana use rose from 13.2% to 15.1% during t...