Gallup poll: 50% of Americans have tried cannabis – Cannabis | weed | marijuana

According to a new Gallup poll, 50% of Americans have tried cannabis. More people smoke cannabis than cigarettes, with 17% (or one in six Americans) using the herb regularly.

Three out of four Americans are concerned about the impact on young adults and teenage consumers.

This new Gallup poll on cannabis represents an increase compared to previous years, when cannabis use remained more or less unchecked. Between 2017 and 2019, only 45% of Americans had tried cannabis.

Even regular cannabis users are up from 16% a year ago.

The new Gallup poll on cannabis is based on the annual Consumption Habits Survey conducted July 3-27.

Gallup poll on cannabis

Gallup first asked Americans in 2013 if they smoked cannabis, and 7% admitted they did. However, Gallup has been tracking trends in cannabis use since 1969.

Between 1969 and 1977, the proportion of Americans using cannabis increased from 4% of the population to 24%. By 1985 it rose to 33% but stagnated at around 40% until it peaked at 44% in 2015.

Between 2015 and 2021, American cannabis use remained at 45-49%. However, during the same period, states have legalized cannabis within their borders.

Likewise, Gallup has tracked U.S. public support for cannabis legalization, which has risen from 12% in 1969 to 68% today.

Of course, this Gallup poll on cannabis is complicated by one important factor: it asks consumers about smoking. Although flower reigns supreme in the cannabis world, a 2019 study of cannabis users found that a significant minority primarily consume edibles, vapes, or concentrates.

Regardless of age, gender and level of education, the consumption figures are similar. Whether you are in the 18-34 year old, 35-54 year old or 55+ age group, have a college degree or not, the cannabis use rate is around 50%.

Men have tried cannabis more often (54 percent) than women (44 percent). Democrats and Independents are more likely to be consumers (57% and 52%, respectively) than 39% of Republicans.

Gallup poll of young people

As in previous Gallup polls of cannabis, current use is highest among adults aged 18-34. This group is more than three times more likely to use cannabis regularly than adults aged 55 and older.

According to the Gallup poll, a majority of Americans are “not overly” or “not at all concerned” about the effects of cannabis on adults.

Only 19% are “very” concerned. Which follows the 80/20 rule. 80% of the country has a live and let live attitude towards cannabis. 20% are busybodies who want to control their consumption decisions.

Still, three out of four Americans are “very” (40%) or “somewhat” (35%) concerned about the brain effects of cannabis in young adults or adolescents who use it regularly.

Gallup believes this concern stems from warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC propagates that cannabis has negative effects on brain development.

Regardless of whether this is true, the CDC (or anyone else studying the topic) has not demonstrated how or why this “damage” is irreversible. They also found no causal relationship between cannabis use and poor “mental” health.

The fact that three out of four Americans are concerned about young people and cannabis is a reflection of propaganda and not the underlying reality.

Let’s say you surveyed Americans in 2020-21. You may have found that three out of four Americans support communal masking, despite the lack of scientific evidence to support the mask fanatics’ claims.

When will it be legalized in the US?

This new Gallup poll on cannabis is not inconsequential. The fact that 50% of Americans have tried cannabis and admit it is no small feat.

Federal legalization of cannabis in the US is not long in coming. Despite claims that the Biden administration will reintroduce the herb later this year, it’s also possible that since 50% of the country has already tried it, Democrats will push for full-scale legalization in 2024.

This is how Canada legalized cannabis. Justin Trudeau saw that most Canadians supported it and had even tried. But they worried about the “young people.”

So the federal government legalized and enlisted the support of the old growers in British Columbia. Once in power, concern for young people justified a corporate cartel and a government monopoly over wholesalers.

State-oriented cannabis companies may want federal legalization to solve banking and trading problems. But with DC come the predatory vultures. It’s a double-edged sword.

Let’s say the new Gallup poll on cannabis asked about crony capitalism in the cannabis industry. You may have noticed that a sizeable majority are “very concerned” about this.