Nearly 7 in 10 American marijuana consumers say they plan to spend either more on cannabis or about the same amount in 2025 compared to last year—and 62 percent report using cash amid ongoing industry barriers to financial services—according to a new poll.
YouGov conducted a survey on behalf of the financial resource company Bankrate. It analyzed trends among people who admitted to using six different vices. These included cannabis, tobacco, alcohol, casino games, and sports betting.
Given that most of the vices respondents were surveyed about are federally legal, except for marijuana, it’s not especially surprising that cannabis stands as the least popular vice expenditure among each of the categories—with 28 percent reporting spending on such products.
It’s comparable to alcohol at 66 per cent and lotto tickets at 64 per cent, as an example.
The most likely group to purchase marijuana is the millennials, aged 29-44.
Notably, 68% of cannabis customers said that in 2025 they will spend the same or more money on marijuana. Of this group, 21 per cent said that they expect to spend more money on marijuana in 2018.
It’s higher than the percentage who purchase tobacco. And it is also similar to those who consume alcohol.
Ted Rossman is a Senior Industry analyst at Bankrate. He said, “I don’t mean to berate people about their spending habits. But it is important to examine where you are spending your money and the impact that your expenditure has on your long-term finances.”
It’s okay to have fun or indulge in the odd splurge but you need to keep your spending within the parameters of a good budget, he added. It’s fine to set money aside for fun but you should also be saving up for rainy days and repaying high-cost loans.
The survey also found that 62 percent of respondents use cash to pay for marijuana—significantly higher than the 42 percent who said they use cash for alcohol.
Only lotto tickets are the only category in which cash is more common (76%) – this is probably due to multiple state laws mandating that payment.
It is also a reflection of policy problems that stakeholders and advocates are trying to solve at federal level. Because cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, banks are reluctant to provide services for state-licensed businesses. This limits the type of payment the marijuana industry can accept.
This challenge has been raised by multiple congressional committees who have heard hearings this month on “debanking”, a broader concern.
Congressional researchers also released a report detailing the subject of debanking—while making a point to address how the marijuana industry’s financial services access problem “sits at the nexus” of a state-federal policy conflict that complicates the debate.
While the SAFE Banking Act to address the issue is expected to be filed again this session—that introduction is “not imminent” as some recent reports have suggested, a spokesperson for the GOP House sponsor of the last version told MEDCAN24 last month.
Bankrate’s survey found 7 percent of marijuana consumers reported debt as a result of their purchases. This compares to 10 percent among sports bettors, 8 percent with alcohol drinkers, and 7 percent with tobacco consumers.
This poll included interviews conducted with 2115 American adults between 16-18 December.
A new study indicates that beer manufacturers have a huge market to tap into with THC and CBD-infused drinks, especially as more states legalize marijuana.
According to a study published last month in the British Food Journal, approximately 53-56 per cent of beer drinkers are open to trying cannabis drinks. “Age, product knowledge, and previous purchasing behavior correlate with this response.”
In a recent survey, more than 50% of marijuana users said they drink no or less alcohol after using cannabis.
This survey’s results are in line with a growing body of research that indicates consumer preferences are changing as state-level marijuana legalization spreads, and more adult consumers are legally able to access cannabis products from licensed retailers.
For example, a survey that was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and released last month found that young adults are nearly three times more likely to use marijuana than alcohol on a daily or near-daily basis.
That survey provided more granular, age-specific findings than a similar report published last year, finding that more Americans overall smoke marijuana on a daily basis than drink alcohol every day—and that alcohol drinkers are more likely to say they would benefit from limiting their use than cannabis consumers are.
A separate study published in the journal Addiction this past May similarly found that there are more U.S. adults who use marijuana daily than who drink alcohol every day.
The new research also comes at nearly the same time as a Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) survey indicating that substitution of cannabis for alcohol is “soaring” as the state-level legalization movement expands and relative perceptions of harm shift. The poll also revealed that a large portion of Americans substituted marijuana and painkillers for tobacco.
A separate BI analysis from September projected that the expansion of the marijuana legalization movement will continue to post a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.
Yet another study on the impact of marijuana consumption on people’s use of other drugs that was released last year suggested that, for many, cannabis may act as a less-dangerous substitute, allowing people to reduce their intake of substances such as alcohol, methamphetamine and opioids like morphine.
Another study out of Canada, where marijuana is federally legal, found that legalization was “associated with a decline in beer sales,” suggesting a substitution effect.
These analyses are in line with recent data from other surveys that looked more widely at American attitudes towards marijuana and alcohol. For example, a Gallup survey found that respondents view cannabis as less harmful than alcohol, tobacco and nicotine vapes—and more adults now smoke cannabis than smoke cigarettes.
A separate survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last June also found that Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids—and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology.
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