Pot acceptance is climbing even as illicit market has grown
America’s on board
Cannabis may face financial and regulatory malaise in the US, but that isn’t affecting the perceptions of consumers, who increasingly approve of it.
A survey of nearly 4,400 US marijuana consumers and 1,200 nonusers shows how acceptance and use have grown over the past year alongside the expanding legal and illicit markets. More people report using marijuana, while naysayers are dwindling, according to New Frontier Data, a cannabis consulting firm.
The study also showed that about a third of weed consumers use it multiple times a day, despite new data showing links between heavy marijuana use and health problems such as schizophrenia and heart disease.
An estimated 42% of US consumers have used cannabis and plan to use it again — up from 39% a year ago, the report found. On the flip side, only 30% said they had never used it and never would, down from 34% a year ago. More people were also open to trying it for the first time, while only 13% said they’d never use it again, a percentage point lower than in 2022.
The snapshot shows an increasingly cannabis-friendly US consumer. For example, 31% of cannabis consumers use it multiple times a day. Among ages 18 to 34, the trend was even more pronounced, with 41% of consumers using multiple times daily. Those numbers have declined since last year, when they were 36% and 46%, respectively. But there’s still no indication that peak pot is coming soon: As more states legalize, the industry is projected to grow 17% to $34 billion in sales in 2023, according to New Frontier’s estimates.
The data shows rising approval despite the fact that legalizing marijuana hasn’t panned out as planned. Creating state-licensed sales was supposed to create a safe supply and get rid of the health risks and organized crime that came with the illicit market.
Instead, underground sales of the drug have grown over the past few years, rising to $77 billion in 2022 from $70 billion in 2020, according to New Frontier estimates.
The report does project that the illicit market will decline to $73 billion in 2023, however. The legal market is projected by New Frontier to grow steadily in the coming years while the illicit market is seen slipping slightly.
Nor has cannabis replaced alcohol use, as proponents of “California Sober” have hoped. The study found instead that cannabis users are more likely to consume alcohol, and generally do it more often. While only 21% of cannabis nonusers drink alcohol a few times a week, 34% of cannabis users drink that often, the report found.
Despite the projections for growth, marijuana stocks have slumped in recent years amid stalled progress toward legalization at the federal level. While a growing number of states are legalizing cannabis, federal lawmakers have been unable to break an impasse on legislation that would give the industry greater access to financial services, let alone a full legalization. Last year, President Joe Biden called for a review of the drug’s classification — a process that could prove lengthy.
