It’s an argument that cannabis advocates have pushed for years, well before medical or recreational legalization became the norm in the West: “Alcohol and tobacco are legal and regulated, but cannabis is safer overall for your health. Why not legalize the less harmful substance?”
With the steady progress in legislative cannabis reform over the years, it appears that the sentiment is widely shared today. Specifically, a new poll from YouGov sheds further light on American cannabis views finding that the majority indeed consider alcohol and tobacco to be “more harmful” to a person’s health than cannabis.
The new poll asked Americans about their attitudes surrounding cannabis and related trends. YouGov interviewed 1,148 adults from April 5-8 to secure the final results, shared last week.
Exploring the Modern-Day American Stance on Cannabis Harm
Most Americans in the study (56%) have tried cannabis at least once in their lives including 24% who reported past-year use and 17% reporting use in the last month. Four percent also said they had never used cannabis but had tried CBD. Of those who used cannabis in the past year, 24% said they use it several times a day, 11% said they use it once daily, while 20% use it a few times a week and 14% use it a few times each month.
One of the most profound findings showed that 64% of those surveyed consider regular alcohol use to be more harmful than regular cannabis use, with 63% considering regular tobacco use as more harmful. Only 14% said that regular cannabis use is more problematic than regular alcohol use, with 16% who believe regular cannabis use is more harmful than regular tobacco use.
It’s far from the first poll that has tackled the question of perceived harm when it comes to alcohol, tobacco and cannabis—and it’s also one of a number of polls that have similarly confirmed the widespread belief that cannabis use is indeed less harmful than alcohol or tobacco use.
Survey data from 2021 found that, “A majority of the public perceives THC and marijuana as grouped together with prescription medications rather than with illicit substances and as having more medical value and less abuse potential than alcohol.”
A 2023 Gallup poll found that most respondents considered cannabis to be “not too/not at all harmful” compared to alcohol and cigarettes, which were more heavily ranked as “somewhat” or “very” harmful by comparison. Authors also note that the increased belief that moderate alcohol consumption is worse than cannabis consumption is largely due to young adults aged 18-34. The age group has seen an 18-point rise since 2018, versus a 13-point increase among middle-aged adults and virtually no change among those over 55.
A Closer Look at American Consumption Trends, Legalization Attitudes
The new poll also looks closer at cannabis consumption trends, finding that flower is still king with 61% of consumers reporting lifetime use—though 51% had tried edibles, 30% had tried concentrates, 22% had tried ingestible concentrates and extracts (like pills, lozenges, drops or capsules), 22% had tried topical body products and 15% had tried infused beverages.
Infused bath products and facial beauty products were least popular, as just 5% of cannabis consumers polled had tried either.
Of those who had tried cannabis, 73% said they were positive experiences including 40% who said their experience with cannabis was “very positive.” Among all Americans polled, 76% believe that cannabis can be useful in treating certain health conditions while 90% of those who had tried cannabis said the same.
Additionally, a majority of those surveyed (53%) said they do not believe cannabis use leads to the use of hard drugs. Most respondents (62%) also said they believe that cannabis use should be legal in the U.S., though approval among party lines generally reflected trends of previous surveys with Democrats (71%) and independents (67%) showing more support over Republicans (46%).
Most Americans said that legalizing cannabis would be good for the economy (52%), and there is also widespread support for expunging cannabis-related convictions for non-violent offenders, with 58% of respondents showing support.
A separate Gallup survey shared earlier this month further found that rates of cannabis use are nearly the same in states that have introduced legal cannabis laws over those that maintain prohibition, suggesting that “criminalization does little to curtail its use.”
