Poll Shows Acceptance By Adults of their Cannabis Consuming Parents

A new illuminating poll sheds insight into the psychology of parents who consume cannabis. Forty-seven percent of parents who have consumed cannabis say they have consumed it in front of their adult children, according to a new study released by Yahoo News and Marist Poll. The poll, entitled “Weed & the American Family,” confirms the swift decline of the stigma that surrounds cannabis.

Researchers surveyed 1,122 Americans that are 18 or older. The poll found that the majority of cannabis consumers in America are parents. Forty-seven percent of parents who have consumed cannabis at least once a year said they have consumed it in front of their adult children. Fifty-two percent of adult Americans said they have tried cannabis, and 22 percent of adult Americans say they currently consume cannabis. Fourteen percent of adult Americans said they consume cannabis regularly.

Michelle is mother to her teenage son, Schuyler. “For us, pot wasn’t going to be a problem in and of itself, but ‘Are you doing well in school? Do you have a good attitude? Fine—you can smoke on the weekends,’” Michelle told Yahoo News. “If I had just said no, I wouldn’t have known what was going on with Schuyler, and that’s scarier.”

Only about one-fifth of adult Americans say cannabis is one of their “top concerns” for children. Instead, parents reported they worried about cigarette use the most. Forty-nine percent of adult Americans that consume cannabis said they think their children would approve. All parents who consume cannabis or not said that 20 is the age they think someone is old enough to decide if they want to consume cannabis or not.

The stigma, however, persists today. Seventy-nine percent of Americans said they would have “less respect for a parent who uses marijuana in front of their children.” Also alarming, only 28 percent of parents said they’ve ever discussed cannabis with their children. Thirty-six percent said they don’t know what to say, 32 percent said they are uncomfortable about the topic but only 23 percent said they don’t want to encourage cannabis consumption.