Americans’ Views on Marijuana Are Still Highly Biased

Americans are split in their beliefs about cannabis’ effect on the country. Gallup’s latest poll found that 49% view marijuana as positive for society while 50% view it as negative.

Americans’ own experience with cannabis is very aligned to their stance on it’s benefit or harm to society. Gallup stated:

• Large majorities of adults who say they have ever tried marijuana — which is nearly half of Americans — think marijuana’s effects on users (70%) and society at large (66%) are positive.
• Conversely, the majority of those who have never tried marijuana think its effects are negative: 72% say this about its effect on society and 62% about its effect on users.

According to Gallup’s latest poll, 68% of American adults (which is tied for the record high) feel that cannabis should be legal nationwide.

Although U.S. citizens aren’t in consensus on whether cannabis helps or hurts our society, they do view it far more positively than alcohol. Gallup recently reported that nearly 75% of adults believe alcohol negatively affects society, and 71% believe it is harmful to drinkers.

Arizona legalized cannabis for medical use in 2010 and for recreational use in 2020. It is legal for Arizona medical marijuana patients and anyone 21 or older to buy cannabis products from Arizona dispensaries.