Daily marijuana use has passed daily drinking and daily cigarette smoking in the United States, according to new federal data, marking a major shift in how Americans report using common substances.

The 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found 21.4 million daily or near daily marijuana users in the U.S.

That total is higher than the 19.9 million people who smoke cigarettes and the 17.2 million who consume alcohol daily.

The annual federal survey covers Americans age 12 and older. It defines daily or near daily marijuana use as consuming marijuana on 300 or more days in the past year.

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Daily cigarette smokers were described as people who smoked on all 30 days of the past month. The survey found that the number of Americans using marijuana daily or almost daily rose about 21% between 2022 and 2025.

That increase took the total from 17.7 million to about 21.4 million. It amounted to a rise of about 3.7 million frequent users.

According to SAMHSA, the largest jump happened between 2021 and 2022, when the number rose by roughly 2.8 million users.

The growth in marijuana use was driven mostly by adults, especially those age 26 and older, rather than teenagers.

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Between 2021 and 2025, the number of adults age 18 and older using marijuana daily or almost daily increased about 22%. That figure rose from 17.2 million to 20.9 million.

Even so, alcohol remains the most widely used substance overall. During the previous month, about 129 million people drank alcohol, while 43.8 million used marijuana.

Broader tobacco product and cigarette use has moved in the opposite direction. It decreased from 20.1% of Americans in 2021 to 15.9% in 2025.

During the same period, general marijuana use rose from 13.2% to 15.1%. The federal numbers point to a widening gap between declining tobacco use and rising marijuana use.

A recent report by San Francisco based workplace mental health platform Modern Health also found concern around substance use among workers. The report focused especially on THC and marijuana products used to manage stress.

The survey of 1,000 full time employees in April 2026 found that 63% of the workforce engages in at least one form of self medication after the workday. It also found that 52% have self medicated during the workday.

Among Gen Z workers, THC use after work exceeded alcohol use. In that group, 59% reported using marijuana products, compared with 50% who reported drinking alcohol.

Gen Z was the only generation of workers in the survey where THC use topped alcohol use after work. The survey also found that 51% of Gen Z workers reported using THC during the workday.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said the SAMHSA data reflects a "very disturbing trend."

"Too much attention has been put on the bogus or exaggerated uses of marijuana for pain, insomnia and anxiety , when in fact it increases anxiety exponentially, especially in those with underlying mental health issues," he told Fox News Digital.

Siegel also pointed to THC levels in cannabis products as part of his concern. He said those levels affect mental performance, judgement, memory and impairment.

"Too little attention has been paid to the growing THC content in all cannabis products, which makes it far more dangerous in terms of mental performance, judgement, memory and all forms of impairment ."

Siegel said THC has been associated with a growing share of fatal motor vehicle crashes. He argued that increased acceptance of marijuana use is feeding a dangerous trend.

The new figures show marijuana now ahead of both alcohol and cigarettes for daily or almost daily use. At the same time, the data shows alcohol still reaches far more Americans overall in monthly use.

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