With 4/20 just a few days away, it might seem like we all think using marijuana is basically NBD these days. But, according to a new survey from Yahoo News and Marist, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, we're still surprisingly judgey about it.
According to the survey results, which include responses from 1,122 adults in the U.S., we're pretty generous with our judgment about marijuana use. About half of all respondents (52%) said they had tried marijuana. Similarly, more than half of all respondents (56%) considered cannabis "socially acceptable." Yet 43% of those respondents didn't think their close friends would approve of cannabis use — even if it became legal. And 53% of those in relationships worry that their partners will disprove of their recreational marijuana use.
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The topic is especially fraught when it comes to parents: Almost 60% of parents worry that their children wouldn't approve of them using cannabis. And a whopping 79% of respondents said they'd lose respect for parents who use marijuana in front of their kids.
Surprisingly, though, whether or not a celebrity uses marijuana makes very little difference to us. Almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents said that finding out their favorite stars used cannabis wouldn't change the amount of respect they had for those celebs. And 68% said the same of professional athletes.
Overall, it seems like we're much more likely to judge (and fear being judged by) those who are close to us than the celebs and athletes we already can't stop talking about.
In pretty much all cases, a major factor is whether or not respondents had themselves ever used marijuana. In general, those who said they use or had used marijuana were more open to the idea of medical marijuana and less likely to judge those who decided to use. They were also less likely to say they feared being judged for their use by their friends and significant others.
As the push for legalization continues (despite some political setbacks), we can only hope everyone just chills out a bit.