“Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” ― Bob Marley

Which is worse for you, weed or booze? Let’s weigh the pros and cons, and then see what America currently thinks.

For people between the ages of 15 and 49 years old worldwide, alcohol is the leading risk factor for death, according to a recent study by the medical journal The Lancet. Let’s be clear: the context of this research is death by any cause.

The prestigious publication found that the more people drink, the more their risk of dying and their risk of cancer rises. More than 30,700 Americans die from alcohol-induced causes annually.

There are 2,200 alcohol poisoning (i.e., overdose) deaths in the U.S. each year. On the other hand, data compiled by U.S. health agencies uniformly tell us that there have been zero documented deaths from cannabis poisoning. Scientific research also shows that cannabis is significantly less addictive than alcohol.

Drinking booze is associated with a wide range of physical and psychological diseases, whereas cannabis is not. Alcohol impairs vehicle driving to a greater degree than pot. Alcohol is associated with acts of violence; cannabis is not. Marijuana confers many medicinal benefits; booze does the opposite. The list of alcohol-versus-marijuana comparisons, in which alcohol comes out quite badly, is a long one.

Accordingly, when recently asked what’s better for people to use, marijuana or alcohol, a greater percentage of Americans chose pot. This switch in attitudes represents a cultural watershed. The Dean Martin-type persona — the person who’s perpetually drunk, but harmless and lovable — has become an obsolete stereotype. The court of public opinion has decreed that booze is out, and marijuana is in.

A new public opinion poll conducted by YouGov found that 27% of Americans agreed that it’d be ideal if people used more cannabis instead of booze, whereas 20% said that would be a bad idea.

Most respondents (38%) said it would be neither good nor bad, and an additional 15% said they weren’t sure (see tweet):

The YouGov poll involved interviews with 10,412 Americans on February 28. According to the results, Democrats were more likely to say that making the switch to marijuana from alcohol would be beneficial (34%), compared to Republicans (18%) and independents (27%).

People aged 30-44 were the most likely to say cannabis substitution would be good (34%), whereas only 17% of those 65 and older said the same.

Watch This Video: The Weekly Weed Report (03-01-22)

As marijuana research firm New Frontier Data asserts:

“There are now more monthly cannabis consumers (29.7 million) than constitute the populations of the nation’s 14 largest cities combined. And after decades of consorting among the shadows of acceptable society, legalization has allowed newly liberated millions of cannabis consumers to celebrate their lifestyles and consumerism.”

According to pollster Gallup, nearly half of American adults said they’ve tried smoking cannabis. More than one in 10 reported that they actively smoke marijuana on a regular basis.

Gallup has been polling Americans about their marijuana consumption habits since 1969, when only 4% reported trying marijuana. For decades, the percentage of Americans who said they’ve actually tried pot hovered in the 30% range. As an increasing number of states legalize marijuana, weed is becoming more of a mainstream consumer habit.

Research firm BDSA forecasts that global cannabis sales will grow to $55.9 billion in 2026, for a five-year compound annual growth rate of more than 17%. BDSA determined that legal U.S. sales exceeded $17.5 billion in 2020, for year-over-year growth of 46%.

Looking for ways to profit from these trends? Our team has unearthed a hidden gem in cannabis pharmaceutical research that most investors don’t even know about.

This trailblazing marijuana biotech is on the verge of becoming “The Pfizer of Pot.” The time to act is now, before this little-known company becomes a household name and its stock becomes unaffordable. Click here for details.

John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Marijuana Investing Daily. You can reach him at: mailbag@investingdaily.com.

Subscribe to John’s video channel: