Poll: 1 in 5 Coloradoans have used pot since legalization

Brandon Rittiman | KUSA-TV, Denver

DENVER — A survey of Coloradans found that almost 1 in 5 adults in the state have used marijuana since legal recreational sales began on Jan. 1, 2014.

After the drug was legalized, 19% of Coloradans reported using it, including almost a quarter of all male respondents, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

The number is higher than the 15% of Coloradans who told the same pollsters in August 2013 that they planned to try pot once recreational sales began.

This statistic has been on the rise: The poll in February 2014 found that 10% of Coloradans had tried pot post legalization; the number was 15% in April.

Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., surveyed 1,049 self-identified registered Colorado voters Feb. 5 to 15 via land line and cellphone in English or Spanish depending on the respondent's preference; 4 out of 5 identified as white; 2 in 5 were age 55 or older. The poll's margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

Overall, 53% of state residents said they have tried marijuana in their lives.

The percentage of Coloradans using pot slightly exceeds the most recent federal drug use data from a 2012 survey which found 16% of Coloradans had used marijuana in the year before.

Even if the rate has risen to 1 in 5, alcohol consumption remains higher.

The federal data show that almost two-thirds of Coloradans, 64%, reported using alcohol in the past month.

Marijuana use also trails the 2012 rate for tobacco use when 30 percent of Coloradans reported use of tobacco products in the past month.

While in-state usage of pot may be small compared to alcohol and tobacco, Colorado's marijuana industry continues to generate impressive sales figures, thanks in large part to out-of-state visitors who cannot legally purchase the drug at home.

The Quinnipiac poll found that support for legal marijuana has grown as legal sales continue: 58% of Coloradans — 74% of those who identify as Democrats and 36% of those who identify as Republicans — said they support the law compared to 38% opposed. That exceeds the 53% of votes cast in favor of Amendment 64 in the 2012 election.