DENVER (KDVR) — One persistent myth about Colorado that FOX31 viewers say they want debunked is that everyone smokes or otherwise uses marijuana.
FOX31 used the most recent data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to see where marijuana use in the state stacks up.
According to that data, as of 2021, around 19.7% of Coloradans over 18 reported marijuana use in the past month. With the non-use rate being a little over 80%, it’s safe to say not everyone in the state uses marijuana.
Colorado not the top state for marijuana use
The numbers already debunk the stereotype, but to go a bit further with it: Residents of the Centennial State aren’t even the most prolific partakers of pot anymore.
Colorado logs the third-highest numbers, behind Vermont with 23.2% of adults using it and Alaska with 22.5%.
That’s a change from 2013 to 2015, when Colorado had the highest usage among the states. It lost that honor to Vermont in 2016 and hasn’t held the top spot since.
Unsurprisingly, the percentage of people using marijuana has been up since the state legalized it in 2014. Between 2013 and 2014, an estimated 15.1% of people reported using marijuana in the past month.
That number rose to 17.1% the next year.
Numbers only slightly higher with more casual use
While the percentage of people who reported using marijuana in the past month was just under 20%, a slightly higher 25.41% of Coloradans over 18 reported using it in the past year.
In this category, Colorado actually ranks as the No. 10 state, just barely being beaten by Oklahoma at 25.46%.
Once again, Vermont took the top spot for reported marijuana use over the last year, with 32% of residents 18 and older reporting use in the past year.
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