Is it good or bad for society? Americans are divided when it comes to cannabis

A new Gallup poll shows Americans are confused when it comes to cannabis and its impact on society. The results show that 49% of Americans see cannabis as a positive influence, while half (50%) see it as a negative. When it comes to the effects of marijuana on consumers, more than half (53%) of respondents see it as positive, while 45% of them see it as negative.

The results, released this week, show that marijuana users are more likely to have positive opinions about the drug and that use among young adults is increasing.

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A closer look at the results reveals that opinions depend largely on whether respondents are marijuana users themselves or not. Adults who reported trying marijuana (50% of them) believe the drug has positive effects on users and society at large. Adults who have never tried marijuana tend to be conservative and think the drug has negative effects.

Despite people’s personal opinions on the drug and its effects, the majority of people believe cannabis should be legalized. And even if they don’t believe the drug has a positive impact on society or individuals, cannabis is seen in a more positive light than alcohol.

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Other interesting facts include an expected increase in marijuana experimentation and a greater number of regular users of the drug, which at 16% is the highest ever. Marijuana users tend to be marijuana smokers, with 57% reporting that they also use edibles.

When it comes to specifics like gender and age, men are more likely to say they’ve experimented with marijuana, but cannabis users are split evenly between men and women. The age group that uses marijuana the most is 18 to 34 year olds. In terms of educational attainment, adults with a college degree are just as likely to use cannabis as those without a degree. In the case of political parties, Republicans are less likely to use cannabis than Democrats.

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While society’s acceptance of marijuana has steadily improved, the laws that regulate it are slow to move and out of step. The fact that marijuana is illegal at the federal level comes as a surprise to people who are young and live in states that have legal programs.