Forget That Stoner Stereotype? Study Says Marijuana Users More Successful

We all know the tired marijuana stereotypes: users are labeled lazy, stoners, shiftless, hippies. But a recent study has found that, surprise!, cannabis consumers are overall more successful, have higher incomes, and are more satisfied. This study focused on marijuana consumers in both California and Colorado, two states where marijuana has been legalized for recreational use.

They found that in California, 20 percent of marijuana users graduated college with a master’s degree while only 12 percent of non-users had, 64 percent of users had started a family, while only 55 percent of those who didn’t use cannabis did, and household income was $93,800 cannabis for consumers in California, significantly higher than the $70,000 average for those who don’t imbibe.

When it comes to life satisfaction, nearly five in ten Colorado consumers agreed that they are more satisfied with life today than they were a year ago, but only about four in ten of those who abstain from cannabis were, 36 percent of pot users described themselves as “very social people”, while only 28 percent of those who don’t use said the same, and marijuana users in both Colorado and California also said they enjoyed outdoor recreation at significantly higher rates.

Linda Gilbert, the head of the consumer research division at BDS (a research firm who aims to drive the cannabis sector to thrive with well-informed decisions based on factual data) said that “Cannabis consumers are far removed from the caricatures historically used to describe them.”

Maybe it’s time to rethink what you think you know.