Shocker! New Study Finds That Cannabis Users Are Happier And More Successful
The days of the typical lazy, couch-locked, dumb, and unproductive stereotypes are quickly fading away.
New research from BDS Analytics certainly proves this. The study, the first of its kind, analyzed cannabis consumers as well as abstainers, all coming from different backgrounds including financial factors, social, and mental attitudes. The researchers studied the participants’ level of satisfaction with life, and took into account their attitudes on parenting. They also studied employment data, their enthusiasm for spending time out
The survey, entitled, Cannabis Consumers are Happy Campers used widespread data from the two most prominent states in the country when it comes to cannabis legalization and consumption: California and Colorado. Two thousand subjects in both states participated in the study, while ensuring that 1,200 of them used cannabis over the last 6 months. In the Golden State, the findings revealed that 20% of cannabis users graduated with a master’s degree, while it was 12% for those who didn’t want to use the plant.
Consumers were also found to have a significantly higher household income ($93,800), while abstainers took home just $70,000. Colorado revealed similar results, as 64% of cannabis users had full-time jobs, while just 54% of abstainers had full-time jobs.
When it came to parenting, consumers were also more likely to welcome parenthood, which also disproves the typical stoner stereotype of avoiding responsibilities. In California, the researchers found that 64% of participants have already started raising families of their own, while it was 55% for abstainers.
Overall Life Satisfaction
The researchers found that almost 5 in every 10 consumers in Colorado agreed that they are happier with their lives today compared to a year ago. For abstainers, only 4 out of 10 said the same.
The findings in terms of social activity and healthy habits were also interconnected; 36% of Colorado consumers referred to themselves as “very social people” while just 28% of abstainers described themselves as social. Users in both states also said they significantly enjoyed outdoor activities.
Consumers also tended to volunteer more; 38% of users in California spend their time helping the less fortunate or have causes. In contrast, just 25% of abstainers said that they engage in volunteer work.
Feedback From Linda Gilbert
Linda Gilbert, who heads the consumer research division at BDS, said that “Cannabis consumers are far removed from the caricatures historically used to describe them.”
“One theme that clearly emerges from the research is the overall healthy well-being of cannabis consumers… when compared to ‘acceptors’ (people who do not consume cannabis but might consider it) and ‘rejecters’ (people who do not consume cannabis and would not consider it),” says the report.
According to Gilbert, she expected to see an equal number of consumers who turned to cannabis for medical purposes although the findings in this area also surprised her. "It actually ends up that a lot of consumers claim to use cannabis for self-care" instead of traditional medical reasons, she says. "These are likely the same people who use supplements or eat organic and vegetarian foods."
Gilbert also noticed significant differences among responses from participants in both states, which she thinks is “reflective of the maturity of the legal market" in Colorado. Participants from Colorado were less likely to blame cannabis as a factor for mental illness, or the use of other addictive drugs; while that kind of thinking is still prominent in California. Volunteers from Colorado also shared the same sentiment in the sense that they think cannabis legalization helped reduce crime while increasing revenue for the state.
"The thing everyone agrees on," Gilbert said, "is that cannabis can impair your ability to drive, and that we need tests to determine if you are driving under the influence."
Gilbert also adds, "The aim is that this will eventually be a national study…. I hope and expect that ten to twenty years from now, this study will still be continuing."
We certainly now have reason to believe that cannabis consumers are actually among the most successful and well-adjusted members of society, based on the findings of this study. We sure hope the anti-legalization camp gets their hands on this study and changes their minds – which can contribute significantly to legalization.
