Most Americans believe cannabis is safer and less addictive than cigarettes and alcohol, according to a new nationwide poll.
Cigarettes were named as very or somewhat unsafe by 87% of respondents, followed closely by alcohol with 84%. Only 38% said the same for cannabis.
The poll also found that 75% of respondents believe that technology is very or somewhat addictive, as opposed to 64% who answered the same for cannabis. Of the respondents, 87% said cigarettes are very or somewhat addictive, followed by alcohol and vapes with 84% and 81% respectively.
Carried out by the American Psychiatrist Association and Morning Consult, the poll surveyed a random sampling of 2,201 adults across the country.
Of the respondents, 13% stated that they use cannabis on a daily basis. This was the highest percentage for any substance on the list other than cigarettes, with 21% of the respondents.
An overwhelming majority of respondents stated that they believe prescription and non-prescription opioids, alcohol, vapes, and cigarettes are very or somewhat unsafe. Cannabis was the outlier among the substances, with only 38% of respondents saying that they believe it to be very or somewhat unsafe.
It is clear that we have gotten the message through that cigarettes are dangerous and addictive,” APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. said upon release of the report. The APA added that the poll was released ahead of a public awareness initiative on addiction and substance use that the association is running throughout the year.
An overwhelming majority for cannabis legalization
To some extent, the survey’s findings are consistent with recent polling of the American general public.
In November 2022, the Pew Research Center published the results of a survey that found that 88% of American adults believe that cannabis should either be legal for medical and recreational use (59%) or just for medical use only (30%). When asked if marijuana should be legal, 68% of respondents said it should, without specifying if it should be legal for medical or recreational use.
The result did find that support for legalization depends somewhat on the age of the respondents. According to the poll, only 30% of respondents over the age of 75 said that they believe medical cannabis and adult-use should be legal.
The poll also found that support coincides with politics, with only 45% of Republicans saying they support legalization for recreational cannabis and medical marijuana, as opposed to 73% of Democrats.
A month earlier, a poll carried out by Monmouth University found that two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization, with most also saying that cannabis is safer than alcohol or tobacco.
People under 35 were the most in favor of reform, with 87% stating that the U.S. should legalize recreational marijuana.
According to the poll, 68% of Americans support “legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” including 76% of Democrats, 73% of independents, and 52% of Republicans. While support for legalization differs along party lines, the results were very similar when asked if they had ever tried cannabis, with 54% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans saying they had.
The poll also found that 69% of Americans support President Biden’s decision to pardon people convicted of federal charges for simple marijuana possession.
“Polling from a variety of sources shows that support for marijuana legalization has been increasing consistently over the past twenty years. Biden’s action is in line with how the vast majority of Americans feel about this issue,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute said upon publication of the report.
