Americans say tobacco and booze are more harmful than cannabis, and by wide margins want the drug legalized and convicts pardoned for minor offenses, a survey says — the latest sign of a growing social acceptance of
r>p>A Monmouth University Poll released this week found that 54 percent of Americans say drinking is more dangerous than marijuana, while 45 percent rate tobacco as more harmful than
r>p>The survey of 808 adults is just the latest indicator of growing acceptance of pot, as to decide in next month's whether to allow recreational weed for residents aged over
r>p>Still, experts warn against America's speedy switch to legalizing cannabis, particularly for young people, and DailyMail.com has spoken with many parents who watched their children lose their minds — and even their lives —
t
t.'Support for marijuana legalization has been increasing consistently over the past 20 years,' Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray said in
at
t. ">More than two thirds of those surveyed also said they backed legalizing the possession of small amounts of pot for personal use, and President Joe Biden's pardons for people convicted on federal charges for simple marijuana
se
n.Biden, who had hitherto resisted efforts to decriminalize pot, this month pardoned thousands of federal convicts for pot possession and urged governors to quash state convictions, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana posse
n
s.In a statement, the Democrat leader said 'too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana' and that 'no one should be in jail just for using or
es
'.'Biden's action is in line with how the vast majority of Americans feel about this issue, a
M
y.While the poll indicated broad support for efforts to decriminalize cannabis, and its psychoactive ingredient THC, Democrats and political independents were more supportive of the moves than
bl
s. RELATED ARTICLES



Share this article
Share
44 shares


It echoes findings by , another pollster, that Americans widely support the executive action and further want to see cannabis downgraded in federal law — it is currently a Schedule I drug, alongside heroi
d LS
  Cannabis looks set to become legally available to millions more Americans within months, with broad support for Biden's move and  in five states in next month's mi
m el
ons.Voters in , , ,  and South Dakota will in November decide whether to legalize weed for residents age 21 or older, changing the rules in states with a combined population of near
6 mi
n. They would join the 19 states and territories that already permit recreational pot, and leave about half of the U.S.

population living in areas where the possession and use of pot are leg
or a
s. A total of 38 states permit marijuana fo
dica
e. In the coming years, voters in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Florida, Nebraska, and Ohio will also hold ballot measures on l
izin
t.  on"> Marijuana dispensary manager LeRoy Roybal of Santa Fe, New Mexico, preparing for the opening of the state's regulated pot
ket
pril on">Support for legalization in Maryland is particularly high, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released this month — 73 percent are in favor of letting
-21s g
igh. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, in July launched his long-awaited bill to decriminalize weed at the federal level and let states set their own rules — but it made no
ress in
chamber. Dr Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told DailyMail.com that young people using ca
is was a
ncern' Research firm BDSA projects legal cannabis sales to hit $30 billion this year, and $47.6 billion by 2026, surpassing the craft beer industry and sending windfall tax revenues into the coffe
f permis
states.Experts say legalizing pot has led to it gaining acceptance in recent years, leading more people to try it.

Stress from the Covid-19 pandemic has also driven
the numb
f users.The National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA) annual survey in August found the number of under-30s using marijuana hit record levels last year — which the agency's boss Dr Nor
lkow calle
'concern'.Experts describe a 'potential explosion' of underage cannabis use and raised the alarm over the weak ov
ght of the
industry.Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug advisor, noted how early legalizers of cannabis like Washington and Colorado had seen first hand the dangers of super-strength pot and a 'backlash has
un' to res
t sales.  The Weed World Candies truck in New York City, which has legalized recreational cannabis but not yet licensed dispensaries.

Critics worry about products that appeal to teens, who could get hol
them via
rmediaries Those seeking to loosen the laws around cannabis had for years protested for pot — including at this rally at the White House in 2016 — before Biden d
ed to pardon f
al offenders 'What people know about marijuana is often rooted in pop culture, not science,' Sabet, president of the campaign group Smart Approaches t
rijuana, told
yMail.com.  'The evidence on marijuana is clear: it is not a risk-free drug, and it can have lasting physical and mental effects and these effects are amplified in frequent users
users of high-
ncy products.'The average cannabis joint is 4-5 times stronger than it was 50 years ago, with 20-25 percent THC potency, said Sabet.

Concentrates and edibles nowadays ca
100 percent p
t, he added. 'Today's marijuana has been engineered to be more addicting and is now being pushed by addiction-for-profit companies like Altria a
mperial Tobacc
added Sabet. 'States that legalize marijuana see increases in youth use, more deaths from marijuana-impaired drivers, increased rates of violent crime, and more incidents o
cidental inges
by children.'The $30billion cannabis industry argues that taking the drug — either smoking it, 대형중고화물차매매 vaping it or as an edible — can help relieve feelings of anxiety or depressio
hronic pain, and eve
lp fi
addictions.
lass="imageCaption"> Teenagers are lured by colorfully-packaged candy-like products that leave them vulnerable to higher rates of dependency, psychosis and school dropouts, researchers warn. P
red: child-friendly
abis gummy packagingThe U.S.

Cannabis Council, a major lobbying group, said legalization was widely supported, that pot was safe and could he
ddicts beat opioid a
lcohol dependency. But in states where pot has been legalized, many parents say their chi
n have been sucked i
an addiction spiral.They also raised concerns over a free-for-all market in which super-strength cannabis
ducts are sold in ca
n-covered packaging.Mary Maas, 57, from Washington, which legalized weed in 2012, told DailyMail.com how her son Adam, 26, spiraled into a devastating addiction to super-strength pot products worlds apart from
'Woodstock weed' she
alls from the 1960s.Now, she looks at the potent oils, vapes, dabs, drinks and gummies sold at a growing number of dispensaries, as well as the down-and-outs living in tents under Seattle's I-5 highway, and
s other states to he
ashingto
lessons.'They'd bett
atch out,' she said. Adam Maas, 26, with his family in Washington. Mom Mary, 57, describes her 'straight-A student' getting hooked on super-strength cannabis products and ending up del
nal, jobless and sle
g rough in Seattle