A Cultural Shift Explored: A Growing Acceptance of Marijuana in Contemporary Society

As of the past month, only twelve states have no laws on recreational or medical marijuana, making them the minority. Every other state has some form of marijuana legally purchasable. In a recent poll, conducted by a cannabis consulting firm, New Frontier Data, “nearly 4,400 US marijuana consumers and 1,200 nonusers show how acceptance and use have grown over the past year alongside the expanding legal and illicit markets. More people report using marijuana, while naysayers are dwindling. The data shows rising approval despite the fact that legalizing marijuana hasn’t panned out as planned. Creating state-licensed sales was supposed to create a safe supply and get rid of the health risks and organized crime that came with the illicit market.”

Watching the cannabis market from the inside, it seems the cannabis market is forever growing, with more and more people wanting to try the healing or recreational properties that cannabis can give. As most of us are within the community, it might be hard to see how some people are still on edge about legalization, even if they are in the minority. According to Pew Research Center, since 2021, “an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (59%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (30%). One-in-ten say the drug should not be legal in any form.” With this opinion not changing for years, it goes to show that the naysayers are sticking to their guns and remaining stark in their choices.

Let's take a look into who the naysayers might be. If we begin to look at the polls by age, we can see there are quite a few differences between adults ages 75 and older and much less likely to support marijuana compared with younger adults, both recreational and medical purposes. According to a 2022 survey, “just three-in-ten adults 75 and older say marijuana should be legal for recreational and medical use, compared with 53% of adults 65 to 74, the next youngest age category. By contrast, 72% of adults under 30 support legalization for medical and recreational use.” If we were to conclude what age range has the most positive outlook it would be younger generations. Hopefully, that means, as time passes, we get closer to federal legalization than ever before. (I have faith in the new generations!)

Not only is there a difference in opinion by age, it also can depend on what party, Democrat or Republican, a person leans toward. Pew Research reported that “Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to support the legalization of marijuana for both purposes (73% vs. 45%).

It can also depend on the person's racial identity as well. “Majorities of Black adults (68%) and White adults (60%) say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with smaller shares of Hispanic (49%) and Asian Americans (48%).” Although the percentages vary, it seems that marijuana is accepted by nearly half of each racial identity throughout America.

This is a pretty amazing feat when you think about how different each group can be when it comes to political and social ideals! As for the reasoning behind the support or non-support there are a few different options that have been reported. According to Gallup, Americans who support legalization reported “marijuana’s perceived medical benefits (86%) and the idea that legalizing the drug would free up law enforcement to focus on other types of crime (70%). Among Americans who opposed marijuana legalization, 79% said a very important reason was that it would increase the number of car accidents involving drivers who use marijuana. Around seven-in-ten (69%) said a very important reason was that legalization would lead to more people using stronger and more addictive drugs.” Although this Gallup survey is about two years old, the reasons still ring true. For a large number of people, just the simple idea of taking less opioids and traditional medicine is a great pay off and a good reason to want the legalization of marijuana. Over the last ten years or so, the opioid epidemic has taken the lives of a huge amount of people. To say that this fact didn’t have an impact on the perspective of the people would be a lie. Many people who work in addiction or just the cannabis industry can attest to the fact that marijuana can help people work away from their addiction to opioids Overall, the shift in perception on marijuana has been intense. We went from not wanting anything to do with cannabis to the majority of Americans campaigning for full legalization. Support for cannabis is at the highest it has ever been, and only in a small amount of time (in the grand scheme of things.) From 1937, when .

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 effectively made possession or transfer of marijuana illegal throughout the United States under federal law.

to now, the change has been intense. Not even 100 years has passed by since then but if we were to get marijuana fully legalized before 2037, it would have been an incredible full-circle journey.

As mentioned before, it’s pretty cool how, judging by these surveys, cannabis may be where most of the population can agree with each other. A genuinely amazing thing, since over the past few years the divide has become so vast, even some families have fallen apart. Hopefully, as time passes, we can get back to where we were before, mildly harmonious without the threat of harming each other. Maybe cannabis can be the one thing that brings people together.

I mean, we all know we are more chill with a joint! If cannabis can be the new frontier in being at peace with our fellow man, I can see us being solid as a united America. We can all look to Generation Z and Alpha for a better future, with our help, of course. I cannot wait to see where we go!