The Aporia · More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds

More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds

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Chalfant, M. (2026, August 24). More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds. Semafor. https://www.semafor.com/article/08/24/2026/more-americans-are-smoking-pot-poll-finds

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Quick Summary

According to new polling from Gallup, 17% of American adults say they smoke marijuana, which is tied with a previous record set in 2023 and represents a significant increase from the 7% who reported using pot in 2013. The same poll found that 15% of US adults use edibles. This shift reflects growing acceptance of marijuana use, particularly for medical reasons, which was recently reclassified as less dangerous by the Trump administration through an order signed earlier this year. Meanwhile, cigarette smoking has reached a record low, with just 11% of American adults reporting they smoke cigarettes, down from a high of 45% in 1954.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-24, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

17% of American adults say they smoke marijuana, which is tied with the previous record high set in 2023 and represents a significant increase from 2013, when only 7% reported using pot. Meanwhile, cigarette smoking has reached an all-time low, with 11% of American adults admitting to using them. This shift reflects growing acceptance of marijuana use, particularly for medical purposes, which may be influenced by the Trump administration's decision earlier this year to reclassify medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug and change its regulation. In fact, 15% of US adults now say they use edibles, another type of cannabis product. These trends are likely to continue, with two states set to vote on ballot measures legalizing marijuana in the upcoming November midterms.

Written for “Cannabis Use Among Americans” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

12%

1 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

60/100

Semafor's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Health

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-08-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Semafor · 1050 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

2026-10-16

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Who wrote this

Morgan Chalfant

12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 But 54% said they would actually support data center construction if companies pledged to cover electricity costs, protect consumers from higher utility bills, and safeguard surrounding environmental resources; 31% still opposed data center construction outright.

2026-10-15 · mixed framing · Americans open to data centers with guardrails, poll finds

🔮 Slightly more than half of Americans say Democrats would do a better job keeping the country prosperous, while only 37% believe Republicans would — the largest lead Democrats have enjoyed on this question in nearly 20 years.

2026-10-13 · mixed framing · More Americans view Democrats favorably as midterms inch nearer

🔮 Questions about the US’ relationship with Taiwan will likely take a back seat to trade, AI, and other issues as President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington.

2026-09-21 · assertive framing · At Trump-Xi meeting, Taiwan will be on back burner

🔮 According to new Gallup polling, 27% of US workers worry that technology will render their jobs obsolete, a new high.

2026-09-15 · mixed framing · More Americans worry tech will take their job, poll finds

🔮 The share of Americans who feel confident the government will protect citizens, specifically, from terror attacks is also tied for a record low, at 55%.

2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Many Americans lack confidence in US govt to foil terror attacks, poll finds

🔮 But passing the bills may not be easy: The legislative proposals in question — dubbed the AI OVERWATCH Act, MATCH Act, and Chip Security Act — face opposition from the White House and the tech industry.

2026-08-27 · assertive framing · Right-leaning US groups push chip curbs

🔮 The Trump administration has been releasing Pentagon files on UFOs, which could be adding to that uncertainty.

2026-08-26 · mixed framing · Four in 10 Americans believe UFOs are alien spacecraft, poll finds

🔮 Two states will vote on ballot measures legalizing marijuana in the November midterms.

2026-08-24 · assertive framing · More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds

Also by Morgan Chalfant

Americans open to data centers with guardrails, poll finds

2026-10-15 · Semafor

More Americans view Democrats favorably as midterms inch nearer

2026-10-13 · Semafor

Fewer Americans support companies taking stances on hot-button issues: poll

2026-10-08 · Semafor

No Gaza peace three years after Oct. 7

2026-10-07 · Semafor

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 12 articles by Morgan Chalfant →

Topics

American Gallup the Trump administration

Subjects

American NORP · 2× Gallup ORG · 2× the Trump administration ORG · 1×

Narrative

Earlier this year, the Trump administration signed an order reclassifying medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, changing the way it’s regulated.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-24

🔮 Two states will vote on ballot measures legalizing marijuana in the November midterms.

2026-08-24 · Semafor

More Americans are smoking pot, poll finds · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 1 hedged)

Marijuana use in the US is at a record high, while cigarette smoking sits at a record low, according to new polling from Gallup. uncertain

smoking → sit → Gallup

Seventeen percent of American adults say they smoke marijuana, tied with the high notched in 2023. asserted

they → say → 2023

That’s a big shift from 2013, the year Gallup started polling the question, when just 7% said they used pot. asserted

they → ’ → pot

A record 15% of US adults also say they use edibles. asserted

they → say → edibles

The polling reflects the growing acceptance of marijuana use, especially for medical reasons. asserted

polling → reflect → reasons

Earlier this year, the Trump administration signed an order reclassifying medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, changing the way it’s regulated. asserted

it → sign → way

Two states will vote on ballot measures legalizing marijuana in the November midterms. asserted

states → vote → midterms

Meanwhile, cigarette use has dwindled to just 11% of American adults, steadily declining from a high of 45% in 1954. asserted

use → dwindle → 1954