Legalizing marijuana has created a lot of buzz.
Currently, 37 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of cannabis, with 21 states, Guam, and D.C., legalizing recreational use. And as the public continues to push for reforms, more states continue looking at increasing the availability and uses of cannabis. With multiple uses and applications, there is something for every medical to recreational user. But what exactly is the percentage of Americans that use cannabis? What type of usage do they prefer? Is there any difference between male and female users? Let’s find out!
88% of adults want to legalize marijuana.
A 2022 Pew Research Center Poll found that 88% of U.S. Adults believe that Cannabis should be legal for recreational or medical use. This is a dramatic difference from the first nation poll performed by Gallup in 1969 where only 12% of U.S. adults believed in legalizing cannabis.
People in the United States are using cannabis medically and recreationally
The prevalence of cannabis use in the United States is on the rise, with 52% of U.S. adults using marijuana at least once. This has increased by 12% over the last 8 years! And most interestingly, the group with the largest population to use it recently are adults 45- 64. It’s no longer high school kids or young adults as 37% of 18-29 year olds have ever tried marijuana.
As people are looking for non-pharmaceutical ways to treat their pain or anxiety while others are using it to help reduce or replace their alcohol usage, demand has increased as new dispensaries are opening up nationwide.
The most common method of consuming cannabis is through smoking; however, there are many other ways you can use this substance depending on your preferences: vaping, edibles (foods infused with THC), topicals (creams applied directly onto your skin), and tinctures that can be dropped under your tongue.
The most common way to use cannabis is smoking.
As legalization changes in the U.S., consumer consumption preferences have changed. Beverages (10%), Edibles (10%), Pre-roll (12), and Vapor Pens (5%) see the highest yearly sales increase. Whitney Economics calculated that the total amount of cannabis sold in 2022 would exceed 48.8 million pounds.
The legalized use of cannabis has created economic growth and jobs
Legalized cannabis has created economic growth and jobs for many states. Since 2017 almost 500,000 jobs have been created in the U.S. in the cultivation, transportation, financial, marketing, sales, medical, and legal industries. The financial impact of the sales taxes from legal cannabis sales goes towards funding schools, roads, healthcare, and social issues for these states. And some states are seeing such an increase in their sales tax that the revenue accounts for 1-2% of their total sales tax revenue. States with legal recreational use also see increased tourism, with people traveling to the state.
The U.S. cannabis industry projected to be a $100 Billion industry by 2030
Cannabis historically beats every fiscal year projection and the futures look sky high. Although business leaders differ on their projects, either of these two figures result in an impressive growth pattern from the Cannabis industry. New Frontier Data calculations place the industry at $57 Billion by 2030. But Wall Street anticipates even higher growth due to increase in client demand and market expansion resulting in a value of $100 Billion.
Although Cannabis usage is a controversial topic, (what isn’t nowadays?) it is clear that the demand, anticipated revenue growth, and tax expectations for the United States, Cannabis is here to stay.
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