Studies demonstrate the power of information about cannabis to alter attitudes across political parties, religious denominations, educational levels and ethnic/racial/ethnic groups.
National longitudinal studies have demonstrated that people's perceptions of cannabis use and secondhand smoke use have changed over time, even in states where marijuana legalization exists.
Legalization
Marijuana https://westcoastbud.io/ use is steadily rising across the U.S. A recent poll revealed that 59% of Democrats and 60% of independents support legalization; more than three-quarters of Black adults want prisoners convicted of cannabis offenses released early from jail as well as convictions removed from criminal records.
These findings underscore the significance of providing accurate scientific information about cannabis to produce positive changes in perception. Furthermore, education and age play a significant role in shaping perceptions about it; those with higher levels of education tend to possess greater knowledge in various topics as well as more nuanced and informed attitudes about cannabis than people with lower education levels.
Impact of intervention was most evident among individuals who consumed cannabis. Prior to being exposed to scientific information, most cannabis consumers perceived cannabis as bad (734 individuals); after exposure, this perception decreased to 597 and an increase from 328 individuals categorizing it as beneficial was noted.
Medical Use
Cannabis contains over 120 cannabinoids. In the US, its cultivation, manufacturing, and sale is overseen by both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Cannabis has long been used as a medicine, providing relief for chronic pain, nausea, loss of appetite, spasticity, psychotic disorders and other medical issues. The Drug Enforcement Agency regulates research on medicinal cannabis by creating a list of authorized research institutions and individuals authorized to conduct studies with this drug.
Participants in this study reported that informal controls were more influential in making their decisions to engage with cannabis than formal controls, including social context, academic goals and, for some individuals, health goals. This aligns with Brochu et al's21 report that young people used informal mechanisms such as goal alignment to determine cannabis use decisions that aligned with social and academic goals; participants often also evaluated potential implications of using cannabis on health.
Social Acceptance
Public perceptions regarding cannabis in the US have changed considerably over time. Attitude changes combined with other influences can impact drug use behaviors and potentially alter behavior patterns.
Past studies have demonstrated the correlation between social acceptability, or how others view an act, and its prevalence among individuals, and engaging in it themselves. For instance, women reporting having experienced anxiety find cannabis use more acceptable than those without.
Researchers utilizing data from three major national surveys conducted over several years, have examined secular trends in public perceptions of risk associated with cannabis. Findings indicate a steadily increasing proportion of Americans view it as less harmful than tobacco - these results are notable, yet further study of what drives such shifts would be valuable; the authors note further investigation of factors within sociodemographic groups would provide more nuanced insight into how legalization has altered public perceptions of risk.
Risks
For decades, cannabis was associated with tie-dyed T-shirts and hemp hoodies, but recent research is uncovering potentially serious and worrying repercussions of cannabis use. Professor D'Souza claims to have seen evidence showing how marijuana impacts heart rate; leading to faster beat rates which could eventually cause heart attacks in people without known cardiovascular issues.
Recent research conducted by the authors of this paper demonstrated how scientific knowledge about cannabis changed participants' perceptions of its impact. Before intervention, attitudes were assessed using four options: bad, neither good nor bad", does more harm than good" or does more good than harm". Post intervention they repeated these questions using mediation regression analysis to see whether attitude changes mediated knowledge-use relationships (Fig 1 Panel A). To prevent confounding factors like age and gender from interfering, age was adjusted into their model so as to account for any possible correlations with use (Fig 1).