How Popular Is Cannabis with Americans?

By John Birks

(Mirror Daily, United States) Marijuana or cannabis comes from a plant, called cannabis, and it can be turned into either medicine or an addictive drug. Americans have admitted to smoking marijuana more than with previous occasions: their number has almost doubled since the last investigations.

If we were to put it into statistics, the numbers would look something like this: 1 in 8 Americans admits to smoking marijuana, which translates into 33 million people across the United States.

A survey was carried by Gallup. The results show that more Americans tried the drug since 2013: the new percentage is 43 (2016), in comparison to the 38 percentage in 2013.
Justin McCarthy reports, on behalf of Gallup:

“2016 could mark a significant legal shift on the issue. Recreational use could become legal in as many as nine states (up from only four today), and medicinal use could become legal in an additional four states.”

Marijuana is legal in four states:  Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, to which the District of Columbia is added. Several other states allow medical marijuana as an alternative to painkillers, a method that patients tend to choose over medication prescribed by doctors.

There are also some states which are presently trying to change the law so that cannabis becomes legal. On the other hand, there are states that forbid marijuana usage, and punish those who break the law.

Smoking marijuana is perceived as a teenagers’ habit, but the facts show that older people are actually the main consumers. Researchers find that smoking pot is related to age.

People in their thirties also have the tendency of smoking a lot, in comparison to elderly people. Another curious thing about people’s reasons for taking up marijuana is their religion, even if this may sound strange. People pertaining to a religious group don’t feel the need of experiencing the drug, whereas non-religious people don’t have any inconvenient with it.

As far as the areas are concerned, westerners seem to smoke more than people in the East and in the South.

The results have been obtained from interviewing over one thousand people across the United States, for several days in a row, between 13 and 16 of July.

The complete results were published in Live Science, for those of you who want more details on the subject.