What’s good, y’all? Check this out! New survey just dropped, and it’s showin’ that a whole lotta folks who smoke that green in places where it’s legal be gettin’ they weed from legit shops. Like, we talkin’ ’bout almost 8 in 10 people sayin’ they buy all or most of their herb from them licensed retailers. This right here is big news for them who been pushin’ for regulated markets to cut down on them illicit sellers grindin’ in the shadows.
Know Where Ya Gettin’ It From
Now let’s break it down a bit. When they asked folks, about two-thirds—like 65 percent, ya feel me?—said they get “all” of their cannabis from legal outlets. Then you got 12 percent sayin’ they get “most” of it from the legit shops. You know what? That’s a sign that this legal game is doin’ somethin’ right.
But hold up, it ain’t all perfect. There’s about 7 percent of folks who said they score “around half” of their weed from legit sources, and 4 percent said they get “less than half.” Then you got 6 percent who ain’t hittin’ up no legal shops at all. A lil’ wild, ain’t it? And another 4 percent straight up don’t even know which stores be licensed or not!
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Now, this survey had 473 people respondin’, and they say the margin of error is like +/- 4.51 percentage points, so we got some trust in these numbers. Deb Tharp, who heads up legal and policy research at NuggMD, said, “Even though the adult-use and medical markets ain’t perfect, this new poll shows they workin’.” She added that by stickin’ to legit marketplaces instead of shady corners, consumers are helpin’ the movement for better drug policy while also creatin’ good jobs.
But here’s where it gets a lil’ tricky. In places like New York and California, the survey showed that smokers there ain’t followin’ the trend quite as much as the rest of the country. Yeah, they still buyin’ from legal shops, but a few more of ‘em said they never buy from anywhere else but legit stores.
State By State Breakdown
In California, 70 percent of the 129 peeps surveyed said they buy all (52 percent) or most (18 percent) of their green from legal shops. And in New York, outta the 62 folks they asked, 68 percent said they always (50 percent) or mostly (18 percent) hit up licensed stores. A few of ‘em, though, said they never buy from legal spots. This just shows how the illegal shops be poppin’ up everywhere.
In both of these states, about 6 percent of folks said they don’t even know which stores are licensed. That’s somethin’ we gotta do better on.
What the Poll Really Means
Now, keep in mind that the NuggMD survey ain’t really distinguishin’ whether the weed was obtained legally, just whether it came from licensed shops versus them unregulated dealers. So, if you growin’ your own at home or gettin’ gifted some, that don’t count as bein’ from an illegal source in this poll.
Most of the people who answered this survey be smokin’ daily, too. NuggMD noted that this might mean the poll is skewed more towards heavy users and medical patients. They think these responses show how the market might trend in the future.
Weed vs. Booze
And yo, when it comes to drinkin’, folks still be hittin’ the bottle way more than puffin’ the herb. But guess what? Daily weed use is now more popular than daily drinkin’, and that’s a whole vibe shift!
Plus, a recent study said that secondhand harm from weed ain’t even close to what it is with alcohol. Like, folks reportin’ secondhand issues from drinkin’ at almost six times the rate for cannabis. Ain’t that somethin’?
Teen Use Is Down
And just so you know, teen usage of weed is lower now than it was before legalization. This backed up by a federal report and CDC stats. Seems like legalization ain’t leadin’ to more kids smokin’, which is a W in my book.
But check this, earlier this year, another NuggMD survey found that about a third of cannabis consumers said they’d go back to the black market if weed only became available as an FDA-approved prescription. Wild, right?
In conclusion, this new poll really shows that the world of cannabis is changin’, and it’s lookin’ better as more folks turn to legit shops. So keep supportin’ the movement, fam!
