Poll: More Americans think it's better to use cannabis than alcohol

According to a new YouGov poll, 27 % of Americans surveyed said that ideally people consume more cannabis rather than alcohol, while 20 % said it would be a bad idea.

However, most respondents (38 %) said it would be neither good nor bad, and a further 15 % said they weren't sure.

The demographic breakdown of the poll, which surveyed 10,412 Americans on February 28, revealed that Democrats were more likely to say switching from alcohol to cannabis would be a good thing (34 %), compared with Republicans (18 %) and independents (27 %).

People aged 30 to 44 were the most likely to say that cannabis substitution would be a good thing (34 %), while only 17 % of people aged 65 and over were of the same opinion.

YouGov poll on alcohol and cannabis

Although the advantages and disadvantages of alcohol compared to cannabis have been the subject of much discussion, alcohol consumption is strongly associated with long-term health problems even though alcohol can cause overdoses. According to a 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report, alcohol causes 3,000,000 premature deaths a year, with the poorest and most disadvantaged communities bearing the brunt of the burden.

On the contrary, no cannabis overdose has ever been recorded and the plant's compounds are used medicinally for a number of health problems.

Regardless of public opinion, it seems that states where cannabis is legalized for adult use are seeing a stronger trend towards cannabis sales over time. For example, Massachusetts officially collects more tax revenue on cannabis than on alcohol, according to state data released last month.

Illinois also saw cannabis taxes beat alcohol for the first time last year, with the state collecting around $100 million more from recreational cannabis than from alcohol by 2021.

A 2019 report separately revealed that the number of drunk-driving accidents in Idaho decreased after legalization in neighboring Washington State.