In April, researchers released a study to show that the preconceived notion of what the average marijuana user looks like is slowly being erased. The facts are slowly taking the idea of the average marijuana user being a young male slacker out of the general consensus. In fact, recent studies have shown that the opposite is becoming more common.

Reversing Myths

In the past, studies showed that there wasn’t any evidence to go along with the belief of a slacker mentality for cannabis users. These studies showed that the use of the marijuana did not result in a decrease of motivation. The recent study, however, focused more on disproving the demographics of the users rather than the effects on them.

Studying Demographics

The recent study performed by Dutchie, an online marketplace platform, went against the belief surrounding the typical marijuana user. In the study, the group performed a nationwide study of 5000 cannabis consumers throughout both the United States and Canada. The researchers reported that nearly half of those surveyed were between 21 and 34 years of age.

Results

According to the study, the researchers found that a majority of the subjects are highly educated. They found that 54 percent of the subjects have a college degree or higher. Additionally, the group found that a majority of the subjects, specifically 55 percent, were women. Finally, the same percentage of participants had full-time jobs. The researchers found that 35 percent were retired, student, homemaker, or other. Only a mere ten percent of the subjects were part-time workers.

In fact, they found that the average marijuana user makes over $50,000 a year in wages. Also, outside of nearly half of users being between 21 and 34 years of age, all other generations are nearly identical in their cannabis users.

Discussion

These statistics show that the stereotype of unmotivated males being the average marijuana user is more than inaccurate. It showed that the stereotype is completely wrong. Not only were a majority women, they are well-educated and fully employed. This goes to show that all different types of people, spanning all kinds of demographics based on education, income, and gender, enjoy cannabis products. By now this isn’t a huge surprise, as this goes along, in an indirect way, with other studies. For example, it helps to show how thanks to those with higher wages being the customers, the states are able to tax them and put the tax money towards other needs, like local utilities. This, in turn, can help to improve home values. 

Overall, it is the hope of legalization activists that this will further help to demonstrate the benefits and disprove the stereotypes surrounding it.

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