7 Facts That Paint a Pretty Picture of Americans’ Attitudes Toward Cannabis
by Bethan Rose
Oregon is home to more cannabis consumers per capita than any other U.S. state, according to a Best Life article that quantifies cannabis consumption across the 50 states using data from Statista and the U.S. Census Bureau. With cannabis legalization initiatives on fire, more and more states are seeing this number hike—particularly states like Oregon that have legal adult-use cannabis programs.
In 2020, legal cannabis sales contributed $17.5 billion to the U.S. economy, proving how valuable the swelling consumer demographic can be from a fiscal point of view. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the states in the top 10 for cannabis use.
Cannabis is legal for medicinal and recreational purposes in the state of Oregon. For every 100,000 people, 28,560 are believed to be cannabis consumers. The 2022 sales outlook per 100,000 people is $21.5 million.
In Colorado, where medicinal cannabis use was legalized in 2000 and recreational cannabis use was legalized in 2012, the number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people rests at 27,770. The 2022 sales forecast per 100,000 residents is $42.7 million.
In Vermont, where medicinal and recreational use has been legal since 2004 and 2018 respectively, there are 25,710 adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people. Next year’s sales forecast pins the projected revenue at $17.3 million per 100,000 people.
In Maine, where the green plant has been legalized for medicinal (1999) and recreational (2016) purposes, the number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people is recorded as 25,530. For 2022, the sales forecast suggests that $19.7 million will be spent for every 100,000 people.
The number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people is 24,520 in Alaska, where medicinal and recreational consumption has been legal since 1998 and 2014 respectively. Analysts predict that every 100,000 consumers will spend $16.7 million on cannabis products in 2022.
In Washington, where medicinal and recreational consumption has been legal since 1998 and 2012 respectively, the number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people stands at 24,180. The 2022 sales forecast per 100,000 people is $19.7 million.
Medicinal and recreational cannabis are major fortifiers for the economy in Nevada. The 2022 sales prediction per 100,000 people is $21.2 million, whereas the number of adult cannabis consumers is 22,610 per 100,000 people.
There are 21,210 adult cannabis consumers for every 100,000 people in Rhode Island. Medicinal cannabis use is legal and the number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people is 21,210. The 2022 sales insights suggest that $18 million will be spent per 100,000 people.
Medicinal cannabis use became legal in New Hampshire in 2013. The state’s medical cannabis laws have certainly encouraged more adults to try the plant, with BestLife confirming that the number of adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people is 20,890. Next year’s sales forecast per 100,000 people is $2.7 million.
Medicinal and recreational use is legal in Massachusetts, where there are 20,870 adult cannabis consumers per 100,000 people. Next year’s sales forecast per 100,000 people is pegged at $17.6 million.
Besides state-legal cannabis programs, what else influences high cannabis consumption in particular areas? That’s another study altogether, but researchers have already tried to identify some of the factors leading to widespread cannabis consumption. For example, a 2020 study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors Reports associated cannabis use among Chilean adolescents with tobacco use, alcohol use, and having friends who use cannabis. This is just one finding on the topic—cannabis use is likely influenced by a combination of social, political, and cultural factors.
Curious how your state ranks for cannabis consumption? View the entire list here.
Nice writing style. Concise and informative. A skill sadly lacking in today’s online journalism.
No mystery to it. Getting high feels great and is good for you. “EVERYBODY must get stoned!”
Dave…? Is that you Dave?
I think Minnesota sucks when it comes to getting medical marijuana and I have several qualifing disorders
According to research, “Migraine is highly prevalent, affecting 12% of the population, attacking up to 17% of women and 6% of men yearly. Among children, it tends to happen more in girls than boys.” A migraine can be very disabling and last from hours to two or three days. Migraines are considered to be the…
PTSD can have far-reaching effects on health, functionality as well as on quality of living, which is why having access to effective treatment is so important. If you are living with PTSD or are living with someone who has PTSD, you would have first-hand experience with how challenging it can be getting through life on…
Up until recently, lack of cannabis education meant that people were blissfully unaware of the fact that the plant is not limited to just one strain and, therefore, does not produce just one type of effect. Fortunately, agricultural experimentation has led to the market exploding in terms of strains that can satisfy everyone, from beginners…
Using cannabis to help combat anxiety is a tricky business. Studies have given us significant evidence that cannabis can be used to help cope with anxiety and because anxiety is so common, that’s an extremely welcome piece of information. In fact, 72% of daily cannabis users reported consumption to relax or relieve tension and 58%…
A cannabis compound that has been described as “cutting-edge” and “so elusive, laboratories often misidentify the compound as CBC (cannabichromene) or CBL (cannabicyclol)” is finally becoming better understood. Delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-10 THC) is a need-to-know cannabinoid, and here’s why. What Is Delta-10 THC? Does Delta-10 Get You High? Is Delta-10 Safe? How Is Delta-10 Created? Is…
The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) recently loosened its applicant drug use policy to be more accommodating to past cannabis consumers. Candidates of all…
Nebraska advocates are working to get medical cannabis on the ballot, THC seltzers are building buzz in Tennessee, and researchers tested CBD…
What was once used as an ideal anesthetic for monkeys could soon be competing with cannabis as a medical aid. We’re talking…