Half of Americans have tried weed

Cannabis has slowly, but surely shaken off much of the stigma that was associated with the drug after decades of anti-marijuana propaganda. 

A new study from Gallup shows just how popular weed has become with Americans over the past 50+ years. 

DON'T MISS: The political consensus on cannabis is taking a surprising turn

Fully half of Americans say they have at least tried marijuana at some point in their life, according to the Gallup poll, a new high that is well above the 5% that admitted to trying the drug back in 1969.

About one in six Americans, or 17%, say they "smoke marijuana" in the present tense. The proportion of people who say they smoke marijuana has more than doubled since 2013 when Gallup first asked the question. 

Millennials and Gen Z saw the highest usage, with 29% of adults aged 18 to 34 using currently, compared to just 9% from those aged 55 and older. Adults age 35-54 use cannabis at the national average of 17%. 

With the experimentation comes more liberal views about the dangers of marijuana with 32% of respondents saying they are "not too" concerned about the effects of marijuana on adult regular users while another 23% said they are "not at all concerned."

About a quarter (26%), said they were somewhat concerned. 

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Gallup's research also has a divide along political lines. 

The gap between the number of Democrats who think marijuana should be legal and the number of Republicans who do as well is much higher than it was in 2003 and 2013. But the 83% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans who agree on legalization represent the highest consensus in Gallup's polling on the issue.

The number of Democrats who have come around on the issue has exploded over the years, with about 45% advocating for legalization back in 2003.

Republican support has grown more modestly, but more than half still see legalization as the right thing to do, with the charge for legalization being led by younger conservatives. 

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