30,000,000 Love Cannabis In America, And Growing

10 Million More Americans Are Using Cannabis Today

Why Do 6.2 out every 10 Americans Now Support Marijuana Legalization? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Here’s some good news to chew on before the week ends.

A new study published in the Lancet Psychiatry revealed some pretty interesting insights about cannabis usage in the United States. The findings showed that between 2002 to 2014, 10 million more people have begun smoking marijuana. On top of that, the number of people who use it on a daily basis also increased by over 4 million.

That’s not all: the study also showed that more American adults have started using cannabis for the first time although there has been no increase in cannabis abuse. The researchers also observed a decrease in the negative perceptions of marijuana, with 17% less people thinking that pot use once or twice a week could be harmful.

The study analyzed more than 50,000 adults between the years 2002 to 2014, although the researchers noticed that the pivotal changes occurred in 2007 when 12 states legalized the use of medical marijuana. Policy reform could have had a positive impact in marijuana use as well as influencing a good change on perceptions about the plant.

The study’s author, Dr. Wilson M. Comption of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), said in a release; “Perceived risk of marijuana use is associated with high frequency of use suggesting the potential value for modifying risk perceptions of marijuana use in adults through effective education and prevention messages.”

yoga and marijuana

Authors of the study also suggest that more prevention efforts should be done with a focus on reducing negative perceptions about marijuana, especially the notion that it could be harmful. They also stated that heavy cannabis use was observed more with unemployed individuals, income that’s lower than average, and even criminal behavior although there is no proof that marijuana is the cause of these conditions.

Marijuana Use Could Overtake Cigarettes

In another interesting study, more Americans are now kicking the nasty tobacco habit and picking up the wacky tobacky instead. A recent Gallup poll also observed the uptick in cannabis use, an increase so significant that we’re considered to be living in times when marijuana use is at an all-time high.

It’s estimated that there are around 33 million marijuana users in the United States today. Cigarette use and sales are dropping significantly after several decades of relentless campaigning against the severe harmful side effects of smoking cigarettes is finally paying off. Some of the efforts to curb public smoking include educational campaigns as well as cigarette tax.

According to the Gallup poll, the number of users who admit to smoking marijuana has doubled from 7% to 13% since 2012. If these figures are to be trusted, there will easily be more cannabis users than tobacco smokers in America come 2020.

However, it still remains unclear if Americans are finally becoming more open about trying marijuana use because more states are finally coming to terms with legalization, or if they are just becoming more honest about it.

A vast majority of Americans support the legalization of cannabis, it’s only the government that is standing in our way today. More American people think that it’s important for sick people to have access to medical marijuana. Thankfully there are also more lawmakers who also support the push for cannabis-friendly policies and decriminalization so it has become clear that the national sentiment on marijuana use is slowly changing for the better.