Colorado has been out front on legal cannabis for many years. That even includes government research that provides some interesting, unexpected information. You know, like which professions attract the most marijuana users.

Conducted by public health officials in the Rocky Mountain State, a new survey of 10,169 people revealed some interesting facts about marijuana users. They include:

• Of those surveyed, 14.6 percent said they has used marijuana in the preceding 30 days
• Among 18 to 25-year-olds, that number rose to 29.6 percent
• The rate was higher among men (17.2 percent) than women (11.3 percent)

So what professions did those who use marijuana choose?

Professions With Highest Level of Marijuana Use

The following list will probably surprise few people. But now there are facts to back up assumptions.

The job sectors where a higher-than-average number of workers said they use marijuana were:

• Accommodation and Food Services (30.1 percent)
• Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (28.3 percent)
• Real Estate (19.6 percent)
• Retail (18.9 percent)
• Construction and Extraction (16.5 percent
• Farming, Fishing, and Forestry (16.5 percent)
• Healthcare Support (15.8 percent)

The single job that had the most marijuana users was Food Preparation and Serving at 32.2 percent. That was followed by:

• Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media (27.5 percent)
• Production (20.8 percent)
• Life, Physical and Social Sciences (20.6 percent)
• Sales (19.4 percent)

Interestingly, use of marijuana in the legal profession was slightly above the state average at 15.9 percent. So were those in management positions, at 15.2 percent.

This is a good spot to note that the question wasn’t whether they used marijuana on the job, just in the last 30 days.

On The Other Hand

Several industries were notable for ranking low on the list. The public officials noted that many of these industries are subject to frequent and random drug tests, such as utilities and mining, oil and gas.

The bottom five on the list – the professions with the least amount of marijuana users – were:

• Health Care and Social Assistance (7.4 percent)
• Education (5.8 percent)
• Public Administration (5.8 percent)
• Utilities (5.8 percent)
• Mining, Oil and Gas (5.2 percent)

The survey was done in part to judge potential workplace safety issues involving marijuana, particularly jobs where people must drive regularly. However, most such professions were low on the list.

The report also noted that most of the industries that ranked high also have many young workers. Survey after survey has shown that Millennials by a clear majority approve of marijuana legalization.