Americans say that cannabis is much less dangerous than opioids, alcohol, and cigarettes, according to a new survey conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last week. The survey results come from interviews with 2,201 adults conducted between April 20 and 22 of 2023, with a +/-2 percentage point margin of error, analyzing public opinion on the dangers and addictiveness of six different substances—and technology. 

Regarding cannabis, 38% said that it is “very or somewhat unsafe.” Comparatively, 84% of respondents said they regarded cigarettes as unsafe. Sixty-four percent believe alcohol to be unsafe, 66% found prescription opioids unsafe, and 75% found non-prescription opioids unsafe. Reminding us of the negative public perception of vapes, 76% responded that vapes are unsafe. While technology will lose in other categories (here’s where we unintentionally ironically tell you to keep scrolling on your screen to find out), people said that technology was safer than cannabis, with only 23% described as very or somewhat unsafe, making it the only category deemed safer than marijuana. 

The survey also analyzed the public’s perception of addiction. In that category, they perceive cannabis to be less addictive than all of the substances mentioned, in addition to technology. Sixty-four percent said that cannabis can be addictive. Eighty-seven percent say cigarettes are addictive, and 84% deem alcohol addictive. Prescribed opioids are considered 83%, a figure that drops to 74% for non-prescribed opioids. Eighty-one percent think vapes are addictive, and 75% find technology addictive. 

“It is clear that we have gotten the message through that cigarettes are dangerous and addictive,” APA President Petros Levounis said in a press release. “We can help prevent more Americans from other potentially addictive behaviors, like drinking alcohol and technology use.” “For instance, vaping is just as, if not more, addictive than cigarette smoking,” Levounis adds. 

However, even though science agrees that addiction is a medical condition (check out this study published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience), 47% said that addiction results from “personal weakness,” which gives us insight into the stigma surrounding substance use disorders. While cannabis is generally not considered physically addictive, remember that other substances the survey covers, such as opioids, are highly addictive due to how they affect the brain, research confirms. If someone is prescribed opioids after sustaining injuries in an automobile accident, for instance, and they develop an addiction, it is scientifically proven to be due to changes in the brain rather than a lackluster set of morals. 

However, Levounis says the survey can be helpful by offering insight into how to educate the public best. “We can also make sure that people know about our current safe and effective treatments for both substance use disorders and behavioral addictions,” he says. “Addiction treatment works.”

And the numbers are higher for those with less regressive views regarding the cause of addiction. Seventy-six percent of respondents answered that addiction is a medical condition, and 93% of those polled said substance use disorders can be treated, with 76% responding that the condition is preventable. 

The survey also offers insights into the importance of increasing awareness regarding naloxone, a life-saving opioid anti-overdose drug. Only 58% said they were aware of naloxone, and only 35% said they’d know how to access it if they needed it for an overdose. Naloxone can reverse an overdose, but only if used 30 to 90 minutes after the incident is discovered. As a result, it is something everyone should have on hand rather than search for when discovering an overdose. Considering that the study found that 71% of Americans say they’d know how to help someone in their life who’s struggling with addiction, it’s clear that one of the biggest takeaways from the research is the importance of naloxone awareness. 

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The country overwhelmingly supports President Biden’s historic moves on U.S. marijuana policy, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The new poll, which comes via Politico and Morning Consult, found that 40% of Americans “strongly support” the president’s actions, while 25% “somewhat support” them.

Biden announced last week that he is issuing pardons to all individuals who have previously been convicted of a marijuana-related offense under federal law, a move that will impact thousands of Americans. Perhaps just as significantly, Biden said that he has asked “the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law,” a signal that the era of federal weed prohibition could be coming to an end.

That is welcome news to the vast majority of the country, according to the new poll.

Politico reported that almost “two-thirds of voters indicated that they support issuing pardons to people with nonviolent federal marijuana convictions,” compared with “fewer than one in four respondents [who] expressed opposition to pardoning marijuana offenders.”

The poll also suggests that Biden’s announcement last week broke through the ultra-saturated news cycle, with Politico reporting that more than “two thirds of respondents said they had heard a lot or some about the executive actions, while just 32 percent said they hadn’t heard much or anything about them.”

While Biden’s pardons only apply to individuals with federal pot convictions, the president urged “all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses.”

“As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said in his announcement last week. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

He also framed the announcement as a significant first step toward decriminalization.

“Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances.  This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic,” Biden said.

“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” the president continued. “It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

With the midterm elections a little less than one month away, Democrats are hoping that Biden’s actions provide them with a lift. 

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris touted Biden’s moves as a difference between the two parties, while also calling on both Congress and state elected officials to follow the administration’s lead.

“Let me just start with saying this. I strongly believe, and the majority of Americans agree, nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed, right?” Harris said during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “We’re urging governors and states to take our lead and to pardon people who have been criminalized for possession of marijuana. And ultimately though, as with so many issues, if Congress acts, then there is a uniform approach to this and so many other issues. But Congress needs to act.”

“We’re 29 days away from the midterms,” the vice president added. “Ask who you’re voting for where they stand on this, and I encourage you to vote accordingly.”

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Nearly two-thirds of U.S. voters support legislation to allow the banking industry to provide financial services to legal cannabis businesses, according to the results of a recent poll. The survey commissioned by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) also found that a strong majority believe that allowing cannabis companies to access financial services would reduce the risk of robbery and other crimes at marijuana businesses.

The survey, which was conducted by the polling firm Morning Consult on behalf of the ICBA, found that 65% of U.S. voters support allowing cannabis businesses to access banking services in states that have legalized marijuana. The ICBA said the results of the poll indicate broad bipartisan support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a federal bill that would allow such access to financial services for cannabis companies. The legislation has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives seven times but has failed to gain the approval of the Senate.

“U.S. voters have made clear that current law inhibiting access to the banking system for cannabis-related businesses has a negative impact on local communities,” ICBA president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a statement from the industry group. “With a supermajority of U.S. voters voicing support for allowing cannabis-related businesses access to the banking system, the Senate should act now on bipartisan cannabis banking legislation that the House has passed seven times.”

The SAFE Banking Act would permit banks and other financial institutions to provide traditional business banking services to the legal cannabis industry. Under current regulations, providing such banking services including loans and payroll, checking and deposit accounts is tightly regulated by the federal government, resulting in few financial institutions agreeing to work with marijuana businesses. Critics note that the current policy forces cannabis companies to operate primarily in cash, leaving businesses vulnerable to robbery and other crime.

The SAFE Banking Act was first introduced in Congress in 2013 by Democratic Representative Ed Perlmutter of Colorado. Since then, the House of Representatives has passed the bill seven times as either a standalone bill or attached to other legislation, most recently as an add-on to a China competition bill that was later dropped from the legislation. Each time the cannabis banking bill or its provisions have been approved by the House, however, the legislation has failed to gain the approval of the Senate.

Voters Believe Cannabis Banking Bill Will Reduce Crime Risk

The ICBA poll also found that 71% of voters believe that allowing legal marijuana companies to access the banking system would help reduce the risk of robbery and assault at cannabis-related businesses, which the industry group said is an indication of the importance of cannabis banking access to public safety. A majority (55%) said that with some cannabis-related businesses owned and led by people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community, providing financial services to the weed companies could help foster equity in the cannabis industry.

Sahar Ayinehsazian, a partner in the cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg’s Los Angeles office and the co-chair of the practice’s Banking and Financial Services Access Group, agreed that public support for cannabis banking legislation suggests the issue is an important public safety issue for the electorate.

“It’s encouraging to see that 71% of voters support giving banking access to cannabis businesses – this is not only a business issue, but also a serious public safety matter. We are approaching a decade since the passage of Amendment 64, which ushered in the current model of the national cannabis industry,” Ayinehsazian wrote in an email to High Times. “During this decade, cannabis businesses have proven themselves to be beacons of compliance and safe and material cornerstones of their communities and economies.”

“Continuing to provide hurdles to banking access is, therefore, a harm to the community at large,” she added. “Such broad bipartisan public support is reflective of the positive impacts the cannabis industry has had nationally and should motivate the Senate to get cannabis banking done.”

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