A Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of cannabis company Curaleaf found 45 percent of respondents have reduced or replaced their alcohol consumption with cannabis since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
One-third of respondents said they prefer cannabis to alcohol.
The poll also found that 42 percent of respondents started consuming cannabis or increased their use since the beginning of the pandemic.
More than half of respondents (54 percent) said they had started using cannabis or increased their use due to stress and anxiety – including 64 percent of women polled and 47 percent of men. Half of those surveyed attributed their increased use or foray into cannabis to wanting to relax, while 48 percent of respondents said they had started using cannabis or increased their use to help them sleep.
More than half (52 percent) of parents surveyed who use cannabis said they started using cannabis or increased their use since the start of the pandemic, compared to 33 percent of those surveyed who are not parents to children under 18-years-old. Parents were also more likely to use cannabis medically than non-parents (58 percent to 44 percent). Another 57 percent of parents said they had used cannabis to reduce or replace their alcohol use.
Joe Bayern, president of Curaleaf, said that since the pandemic’s start, the company has “seen an increase in new consumers at our dispensaries with more people exploring cannabis.”
“The liberalization of the plant – and the increasing diversity among consumers who enjoy it – will continue as the general public becomes more interested in incorporating cannabis in their health and wellness routines.” – Bayern in a statement
The poll was conducted online last month and had 1,895 responses from adults 21-and-older; 772 respondents had never used cannabis.
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