The Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) is conducted every year to learn more about the health opinions, behaviors and status of Ohio adults. Since 2015 OHIP has asked about marijuana use.
OHIP asked, “Keeping in mind that all of your answers in the survey are confidential, have you, yourself, ever happened to try marijuana?” In 2018, about half of Ohio adults (49%) reported that they had ever tried marijuana. This has remained steady since 2015.
The percentage of Ohio adults who have tried marijuana did not vary by income. However, Ohio adults ages 65 and older have consistently been less likely than younger adults to have ever tried marijuana.
OHIP also asked, “Have you used marijuana in the past year, or not?” Among the 49% of Ohio adults who have ever used marijuana, 3 in 10 have used it in the past year (30%). This has remained steady since 2015.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, with more than 22 million users each month.1 In 1996, California became the first state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.2 In 2012, both Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use of marijuana.3 As of 2018, 33 states4 and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Ten of those states have also legalized recreational marijuana.5
Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Now, in 2019, Ohio adults with a qualifying medical condition can buy medical marijuana. For more information about the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, please visit https://www. medicalmarijuana.ohio.gov/.
News release, in partnership with the Prevention Action Alliance
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Marijuana and Public Health – Marijuana Fast Facts and Sheets. Retrieved from https://bit. ly/2TwaIid.
2 National Conference of State Legislatures. (2018). State Medical Marijuana Laws. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/1udxSs4.
3 National Conference of State Legislatures. (2018). Marijuana Overview. Retrieved from https://bit. ly/1VAhHD3.
4 Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.
5 Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
May 20, 2019
