POLITICO-Harvard poll: Despite vaping crisis, Americans view e-cigarettes as far more dangerous than marijuana

November 5, 2019
AggregatedNews
Vaping Crisis
0 Comments

Americans now think marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol, tobacco or e-cigarettes, according to new polling results from POLITICO and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health released Monday.

Just 1 in 5 Americans believe marijuana is very harmful to people who use it. Twice as many said the same about alcohol, 52 percent characterized e-cigarettes as very harmful and 80 percent said tobacco cigarettes are very harmful.

“Ten years ago, we were jailing people for marijuana,” said Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard who conducted the poll of 1,007 Americans. “Now people see this as not essentially very harmful.”

Marijuana legalization has spread rapidly across the country since Colorado and Washington passed ballot referendums in 2012 authorizing adult use. There are now 33 states that have legalized either medical or recreational use. However, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a drug with high potential for abuse and no medical usefulness.

The poll shows marijuana largely has avoided a perception hit following nearly 2,000 cases of vaping-related lung illnesses, including at least 37 deaths. The most recent CDC numbers show that more than 80 percent of vaping products linked to lung problems contained THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana. [Read more at Politico]

This Post Has 0 Comments

Recent Stories

Pot Industry High on Florida’s Marijuana Legalization Referendum

Voters will now get to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in a state that has a well-established medical pot marketplace. When the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month approved a November referendum on…

US Marijuana Industry Hits All-Time High

The legal cannabis industry is thriving in the U.S., reaching its highest-ever number of jobs and sales, a new report shows. Vangst, a cannabis industry job platform, found that at…

Black market marijuana tied to Chinese criminal networks infiltrates Maine

Maine is the newest frontier for the illicit marijuana trade, with potentially hundreds of suspected unlicensed grow houses operating in the state, a CBS News investigation has found. It’s part…

Iowa’s medical marijuana program is 10 years old. How does it compare with other states?

Ten years ago this month, Iowa policymakers made it legal to use cannabis for certain medical treatment, marking the start of what would eventually become Iowa’s existing medical cannabidiol program.…