In California, using cannabis is legal for adults aged 21 years and over. Cannabis use has a wide range of short-term health effects, including intoxication, poisoning, and impairment of decision-making and reaction time. For more information about cannabis-related health effects, including long-term health effects, please visit the Health Effects web page.
Adults who use cannabis should follow safety measures such as storing and disposing of cannabis products where they cannot be accessed by children and pets, not driving while under the influence of cannabis, and not using cannabis with alcohol.
In California, adult cannabis use remained steady at approximately 17% from 2018 to 2023. Among adults who used cannabis, the most common methods of consumption were smoking, eating, and vaping.
Adult cannabis use data was obtained from the 2017-2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), an annual phone and web-based survey of a random sample of approximately 20,000 California adults. The data are considered representative of the age 18 and older population of California.
Cannabis use is defined as “use of marijuana, hashish, or another THC product" within the past 30 days.
Adults are defined as individuals aged 21 years and older.