Daily marijuana use surpasses alcohol in US as 21.4 million Americans light up every day

More Americans now use marijuana daily than drink alcohol daily, according to a new federal survey.

The 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the Department of Health and Human Services, found that about 21.4 million Americans aged 12 and older used marijuana daily or near-daily last year. The New York Post and other outlets cited the report Tuesday.

By the same measure, about 19.9 million people smoked cigarettes daily or near-daily, and about 17.2 million drank alcohol at that frequency. The survey defined "daily or near-daily" as use on 20 or more of the past 30 days. Alcohol also fell to fourth place, trailing nicotine e-cigarettes.

Compared with 2021, the number of daily cigarette smokers dropped 28 percent and daily drinkers fell 24 percent, while daily marijuana users rose 21 percent.

Alcohol still dominates in total user numbers. About 129.1 million Americans aged 12 and older said they had drunk alcohol in the past month, far exceeding the roughly 46.9 million tobacco users, 43.8 million marijuana users and 29.3 million nicotine e-cigarette users. Of those 129.1 million drinkers, about 56.8 million, or 44 percent, reported binge drinking.

Among those who drank at least once a month, only 13 percent said they drank daily. Among those who used marijuana at least once a month, however, 40 to 50 percent reported daily use.

Among Americans aged 18 to 25, between 10 and 12 percent reported daily or near-daily marijuana use, compared with 3 to 5 percent for daily alcohol consumption and 9.6 percent for daily cigarette smoking.

The steepest growth is among those 26 and older. Millions of Americans in their 30s, 40s and 50s reported using marijuana daily or near-daily.

The survey drew on self-reported responses from more than 60,000 people and covers five years of trends from 2021 to 2025. The NSDUH is a federal survey the government has conducted annually since 1971 and serves as the country's primary source of drug use and mental health statistics.