Marijuana Moment
Marijuana consumers are self-reporting higher levels of stress since President Donald Trump was inaugurated compared to the overall population, according to a new survey.
Amid ongoing uncertainties around cannabis rescheduling, industry banking access and the confirmation of certain cabinet officials who’ve been hostile to marijuana reform, the survey from Censuswide, which was commissioned by Nicokick.com, offers fresh insights into the current state-of-mind among cannabis users.
Asked how much their “stress levels increased or decreased since the new presidential administration took office in the US,” 65 percent of frequent marijuana consumers and 64 percent of regular users said their stress has increased either significantly or somewhat.
That’s about 10 percentage points higher than the overall American population, 54 percent of which reported increased stress over the past two months.
Among occasional cannabis consumers, 61 percent said they were more stressed out lately, while 58 percent of those who rarely use marijuana said the same.
The survey also found that 37 percent of frequent users, 34 percent of regular users and 21 percent of occasional users reported using cannabis or other substances such as alcohol and tobacco to cope with their stress, compared to 15 percent of the general public.
“Frequent users of cannabis are also more than twice as likely to say their coping methods are successful at supporting well-being than the general public (34 percent compared with 16 percent),” a summary of the survey says.
The poll involved interviews with 2,005 Americans from March 7-10.
It’s unclear what exactly accounts for the outsized stress of marijuana consumers under Trump’s second term. Polls have generally found bipartisan support for cannabis reform, and largely equivalent rates of consumption among backers of both parties.
