Marijuana consumers are self-reporting higher levels of stress since President Donald Trump was inaugurated compared to the overall population, according to a new survey.
Amid ongoing uncertainties around cannabis rescheduling, industry banking access and the confirmation of certain cabinet officials who’ve been hostile to marijuana reform, the survey from Censuswide, which was commissioned by Nicokick.com, offers fresh insights into the current state-of-mind among cannabis users.
Asked how much their “stress levels increased or decreased since the new presidential administration took office in the US,” 65 percent of frequent marijuana consumers and 64 percent of regular users said their stress has increased either significantly or somewhat.
That’s about 10 percentage points higher than the overall American population, 54 percent of which reported increased stress over the past two months.
Among occasional cannabis consumers, 61 percent said they were more stressed out lately, while 58 percent of those who rarely use marijuana said the same.
The survey also found that 37 percent of frequent users, 34 percent of regular users and 21 percent of occasional users reported using cannabis or other substances such as alcohol and tobacco to cope with their stress, compared to 15 percent of the general public.
“Frequent users of cannabis are also more than twice as likely to say their coping methods are successful at supporting well-being than the general public (34 percent compared with 16 percent),” a summary of the survey says.
The poll involved interviews with 2,005 Americans from March 7-10.
It’s unclear what exactly accounts for the outsized stress of marijuana consumers under Trump’s second term. Polls have generally found bipartisan support for cannabis reform, and largely equivalent rates of consumption among backers of both parties.
But one potential factor could be the anxiety over how the administration will navigate cannabis policy issues. On the campaign trail, Trump endorsed federal marijuana rescheduling, banking access and a Florida legalization ballot initiative, but he’s since become notably silent on the topic.
What’s more, while the president nominated several cabinet officials with pro-reform backgrounds, he also brought into the fold a number of anti-cannabis officials who could affect federal marijuana policy.
For example, Trump recently nominated a vociferously anti-cannabis official to serve as the lead attorney at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), drawing praise from prohibitionists.
While HHS under the Biden administration has already recommended rescheduling cannabis following a scientific review, that process has been delayed, raising questions about the potential influence of new administrative appointees.
HHS’s general counsel is responsible for providing legal advice, interpreting regulatory policies and overseeing litigation involving the agency, among other roles, and so if Stuart is confirmed by the Senate he could be key in any future agency interpretations of the Controlled Substances Act’s requirements when it comes to marijuana’s scheduling status.
By contrast to the HHS general counsel nominee, Mike Stuart, the recently Senate-confirmed secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was previously vocal about his support for marijuana legalization.
Despite that stated support, however, following his confirmation Kennedy said last month that he is “worried about” the normalization of high-potency marijuana and that he feels its use can have “really catastrophic impacts” on people, but that state-level legalization can facilitate research into its harms and benefits.
The comments came on the same day that Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said he received a commitment from Kennedy to “follow the science on the harms of marijuana.”
Ricketts had already disclosed earlier this month that he spoke to Kennedy about the the “importance” of “preventing the expansion of marijuana.” Now he says “RFK committed to me that he would follow the science on the harms of marijuana.”
Despite Kennedy’s history of advocating for cannabis legalization, he said last month that he will defer to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on marijuana rescheduling in his new role.
That could complicate rescheduling. Last month, Trump officially named his pick to lead DEA—selecting a decades-long agency veteran and top Virginia official who’s voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
Separately, anti-marijuana Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) told Marijuana Moment recently that it’s “definitely” time to have a talk with Kennedy to convince him that “marijuana is harmful” and that the way to make Americans healthy is by “limiting” its use.
Prior to Kennedy’s written responses to members of the Senate Finance Committee that gave him initial approval, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pressed him to reiterate his position on marijuana legalization amid the ongoing effort to federally reschedule cannabis.
Meanwhile, a longtime drug policy reform advocate told Marijuana Moment this month that he spoke with a White House staffer at an event in Washington, D.C. and was invited to submit a proposal outlining why Trump should back federal marijuana legalization.
The president also recently reiterated his support for executing people who sell currently illicit drugs, calling it a “very humane” policy to prevent overdose deaths that he’s “ready” to implement.
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