Posted on 08/25/2026 1:03:04 PM PDT by Red Badger
Most people have tried it at least once. Smoking marijuana is a rite of passage almost as common as that first underage beer. Some grow out of it after high school or college. Others use it well into adulthood. There was also that first cigarette. You inhaled that first time and were pretty sure you were going to bring up a lung, but it was all about the "coolness" of it. Now, with the advent of legalized marijuana, a new poll shows that Americans have chosen what they want to light up.
On Monday, a new Gallup poll showed that an all-time high number of Americans say they smoke marijuana, yet an all-time low number of Americans are smoking cigarettes. The poll was conducted by phone by ReconMR from July 1-19, and randomly sampled 1,200 U.S. adults. In the survey, 17 percent of Americans said they use marijuana, a record matched from 2023. The number of Americans who said they smoke cigarettes was estimated to be around 11 percent. Other portions of the survey showed that 9 percent of those polled said they vape, and 4 percent use nicotine pouches. The number of people who smoke pot more than doubled from just 7 percent in 2013 to the current 17 percent.
The marijuana vs. cigarette numbers show the super-mixed message that has been sent over the last few decades. In the 50s and 60s, it was uncommon to see anyone not smoking. It was cool and glamorous, and just something people did. But in January of 1964, the Surgeon General came out with the first report on the dangers of smoking and health. Since that time, the number of people seen smoking not just in American life, but in movies and on television has dwindled to almost nothing. Try lighting up anywhere in public and see what happens.
However, the use of marijuana has skyrocketed in the past decade, rising an estimated 65.2 percent between 2015 and 2024. In that same time frame, 22 states legalized marijuana. Coincidence? Probably not. Some research also suggests that three in ten people who use marijuana suffer from cannabis use disorder, including cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which causes repeated and severe episodes of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain with long-term use. Use of marijuana during teenage years and young adulthood can also have negative effects on brain development in terms of attention, memory, and learning.
The survey gave a bit of an overview of other favorite vices of Americans as well. It showed that 49 percent of those surveyed were coffee drinkers, and 20 percent drink caffeinated soda daily. When it comes to diet, 5 percent said they are vegetarians, and just 2 percent are vegans. Legalized marijuana may also be contributing to the fact that Gen Z is consuming less alcohol than previous generations, although the survey showed that 54 percent of respondents said they drink alcohol.
With the average cost nationwide of a pack of cigarettes at $10.15 and the average cost of marijuana bought at a dispensary at $8.94, both depending on state taxes, it's easy to see where you get more bang for your buck.
Proponents of legalized marijuana will also tout revenue gained. But then there's that old saying: Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
That's my point. You don't. Therefore no real controlling urge to use either.
All I can say is that it is not for everyone. I’ve used it off and on for over 50 years. That’s not to say I promote it, but it has helped ne with occasional bouts of insomnia. For those that use cannabis I suggest you grow your own if you can. The prices in dispensaries are crazy.
The pot advocates were always saying that legalizing weed would just affect those who already smoke it by bringing them out of the shadows.
Man, was that off the mark.
At least alcohol never causes that!
I’m my opinion it’s far better than alcohol. Never seen a high guy instigating a fight lol.
lol! Btt!
I’m my opinion it’s far better than alcohol.
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Pot kills ambition a lot more than alcohol. Many heavy pot smokers lie in bed in a day many more hours than normal.
Look at all of the famous writers that were booze hounds- like Hemingway.
California has gone to Hell since they legalized pot..ad decriminalized general drug use.
Possibly for some. I know a guy that vapes all day long. If he didn’t he’d be scatterbrained. Instead of 50 different directions at once it’s probably down to 25. Definitely an interesting fellow. He is extremely productive and very smart.
Probably because pot is cheaper than cigarettes.
Young kids vape more too.
Alcohol has a built-in guardrail in the form of a hangover. There’s a consequence if you overindulge. I don’t see marijuana as being self-regulating like that. You could just endlessly chain your highs together, which I’m guessing many people do.
I have personally seen the last two (psychosis and becoming a lazy bum) with tragic results.
Amotivational syndrome.
It’s not that I don’t want any weed,
I just can’t afford the $100 in junk food 🤣
War on drugs
I wish they’d declare wat on blonds with big boobies
Once or twice a month I take a 5mg cannabis gummie at bed time and sleep like a log. Neither my arthritis nor the neuropathy in my feet keep me awake. Im 76 years old, I smoke nothing and I haven’t had a drink in fifty years.
Cannabis has been a human consumable for thirty centuries at least. Most other sleep aids on the market come with warnings but thirty centuries of field testing is good enough for me.
They have for sure overbuilt dispensaries in southern Michigan bordering Indiana
Scores of them
And Detroit
Cheapest cannabis this side of cave junction poregon
And it shows.
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