San Francisco

San Francisco Has the Most Pot Smokers in the Country

For once, the Bay Area is at the top of a ranking that doesn't have to do with high rent costs, but just being high.

According to a government health organization, San Francisco is home to the most tokers, joint smokers and all-around stoners. 

The study, produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found that more than 15 percent of San Franciscans over age of 12 have smoked weed within the last month. That's almost double the 7.7 percent of people nationwide who report smoking recently. 

Colorado, where marijuana use is legal, and Oregon also had a fair amount of stoners within their state lines, as did New York and Vermont. 

All told, the highest percentage of smokers hailed from the West (ahem, best) coast, while the South had the lowest percent of smokers. In Texas, 3.9 percent of people said they used marijuana within the last month. 

The data suggests there may be a correlation between the harmful perception of weed and its usage. People in the South told researchers that they perceived a great risk from marijuana (32 percent of respondents) while those from the West had the lowest (25.6 percent) perception of marijuana-related risk. 

"As a result, it is useful for state and local policymakers and prevention specialists to understand the association between marijuana use and perception of great risk of harm and potential consequences to a person’s health and well-being," authors Arthur Hughes, Rachel Lipari and Matthew Williams concluded in their report. 

That data, first reported by the Washington Post, combs date from 2012 to 2014. The newspaper's graphics team made an (aptly) purple map to show locations where marijuana is used most. You can check that out here and the full study is available here. 

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