Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids\u2014and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology\u2014according to a new poll.<\/p>\n
The survey, released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last week, looked at public opinion on the dangers and addictiveness of six different substances, plus technology.<\/p>\n
With respect to marijuana, 38 percent said that it is \u201cvery or somewhat unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
People were far more likely to regard as unsafe cigarettes (84 percent), alcohol (64 percent), prescription opioids (66 percent), non-prescription opioids (75 percent) and vapes (76 percent). The only thing that people said was safer than marijuana was technology, which only 23 percent described as very or somewhat unsafe.<\/p>\n
In a separate question, 64 percent said that cannabis can be addictive. That\u2019s a lower number than each of the other categories, including cigarettes (87 percent), alcohol (84 percent), prescribed opioids (83 percent), non-prescribed opioids (74 percent), vapes (81 percent) and technology (75 percent).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that we have gotten the message through that cigarettes are dangerous and addictive,\u201d APA President Petros Levounis said in a press release. \u201cWe can help prevent more Americans from other potentially addictive behaviors, like drinking alcohol and technology use.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, vaping is just as, if not more addictive than cigarette smoking,\u201d he added. \u201cWe can also make sure that people know about our current safe and effective treatments for both substance use disorders and the behavioral addictions. Addiction treatment works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the causes of addiction, 47 percent said that it was a result of \u201cpersonal weakness,\u201d but 76 percent said addiction is a medical condition and 93 percent said that substance use disorders can be treated. Another 76 percent said that the condition is preventable.<\/p>\n
Additionally, 71 percent of Americans say they\u2019d know how to help someone in their life who\u2019s struggling with addiction. But while 58 percent said they\u2019re aware of the opioid anti-overdose drug naloxone, just 35 percent said they\u2019d know how to access the medication in the event of an overdose.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2022, opioids killed more than 100,000 people,\u201d APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin said. \u201cWhile it is encouraging that most Americans see substance use disorder as a treatable medical condition, we can do more to ensure that more of us in our communities are aware of and can access naloxone, which saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
APA said it will be launching a public awareness campaign on addiction\u2014initially focusing on vaping and then transitioning to opioids in the summer, alcohol in the winter and technology next year. It did not mention plans to include cannabis in that education campaign.<\/p>\n
The survey<\/a> involved interviews with 2,201 adults from April 20-22, with a +\/-2 percentage point margin of error.<\/p>\n A New York-specific survey that was released in March<\/a> found that 77 percent of respondents consider alcohol use a somewhat or very serious public health concern, while 46 percent said the same about cannabis consumption.<\/p>\n The findings are largely consistent with shifting public perceptions on alcohol and marijuana<\/a> nationally, with fewer people viewing cannabis as a seriously dangerous substance as more states move to legalize the plant for medical and recreational purposes. Public education has also contributed to increased awareness of the harms of alcohol.<\/p>\n Also, past polling has found that many people are using marijuana as an alternative to alcohol, as well as a litany of prescription medications.<\/p>\n About one in five people who abstained from alcohol as part of \u201cDry January\u201d this year\u00a0said they\u2019re were using cannabis as an alternative<\/a> to help get through the month, according to another survey.<\/p>\n A separate poll released last year found that more Americans now openly admit that they smoke marijuana or eat cannabis-infused edibles\u00a0than say they\u2019ve smoked cigarettes<\/a>\u00a0in the past week.<\/p>\n DEA Discusses Legal Status Of Minor Cannabinoids Like THCA And Hydrogenated CBD<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol And Cigarettes\u2014And Is Less Addictive Than Technology\u2014Americans Say In New Survey<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids\u2014and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology\u2014according to a new poll. The survey, released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last week, looked at public opinionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65932,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65931\/revisions\/65932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol And Cigarettes\u2014And Is Less Addictive Than Technology\u2014Americans Say In New Survey<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"