How public attitude towards marijuana is reshaping?

By Mian Asif Zaman:

Despite the phenomenal healing power of marijuana its use was declared illegal in several parts of the world. Growing scientific evidence of herbs medical potential to cure several human conditions and strong public support set a new wave that is softening the attitudes towards marijuana. This change is fairly wide and includes common people, business individuals, medical professionals, researchers and policy makers. With more and more people are throwing their support to the herb, governments around globe are compelled to revisit legislation declaring marijuana use illegal. In the following lines, I will try to figure out how the new awareness about marijuana is triggering a change in various sections of the society.

Marijuana and general public

Support for legalization of marijuana is growing and has hit an all-time high. Talking about US, when Obama administration assumed office marijuana support was 44% and now it climbed up to 60%.

In Gallup survey that held October last year, 58% supported for legalization of the herb. The support figure grew further according to a latest survey by AP-NORC for Public Affairs Research – 61% says they support marijuana legalization.

A number of US states including California, Nevada, Arizona and Massachusetts are likely to consider legalization of recreational marijuana with voters going to the ballot box this fall.

Based on this rapid growth trend, many believe, new president and Congress may face more pressure to make changes to marijuana law at the federal level.

Marijuana and celebrities

Celebrities are lending their hand in spreading cannabis advocacy and influencing the voting public. Notable figures such as Snoop Dog, Bill Maher, Danny Devito, Natalie Portman to name a few are joining to the voices calling for the end to prohibition and support legalization.

Among fervent supporters is pop music sensation Rihanna who time and again expresses her love for marijuana publicly. When she posts Instagram photos of huge joints, her celebrity status is more than enough to invoke cannabis support without saying a single word. 

Marijuana and opinion leaders

Economic leaders like Sir Branson are supporting legalization of marijuana. Sir Richard Branson not only occasionally smokes but he actively advocates decriminalization of marijuana all over the world.
More recently, Ravens player, Eugene Monroe stressed NFL to ditch pills for treating injuries. Advocating for safer options he pushed hard for medical Marijuana. Comparing marijuana with opioids that players are currently being prescribed, he termed it a safe drug.


Marijuana and business community

Marijuana is also impacting business landscape and its affects are visible from two levels. First, business organizations’ attitude towards marijuana, all across the nation, changed dramatically. Second, restrictions to set-up cannabis related business are melting down and as a result new companies are being founded. 

Businesses can not stay apart from social changes happening around them; growing marijuana support is reshaping businesses attitude to the weed. In such a move, two major life insurance companies in Canada, reversing their longstanding policy, decided to treat cannabis users as non-smokers offering them far cheaper premiums. It represents a sign of marijuana’s growing normalization among business community.

Restrictions on cannabis industry have strangled its natural growth; however, its legalization has allowed this industry to somewhat fair opportunities to operate under. Burgeoning cannabis demand coupled with relaxed laws have encouraged many entrepreneurs to exploit exponential potential of the industry that is dubbed as the “weed gold rush” in US. The beginning of a new era is marked with listing of cannabis company Terra Tech on Wall Street.

Talking about rapidly changing business landscape and growing popularity of marijuana, Mr Peterson who heads Terra Tech told Telegraph,

“Funding opportunities have increased. With the legal risk having dropped, it is far easier to raise capital”.

“In 2010 it took a year to raise $ 1m. Last year we raised $ 10m”.

Marijuana and medical professionals

Physicians’ dilemma is science proves marijuana is safe and effective medication yet law prohibits them prescribing it to patients. Medical marijuana became a heavily debated issue among the health care community leading them drawing lines on both sides. A recent survey conducted by WebMed and Medscape has revealed that over 50% doctors across United States support legalization of marijuana as a treatment option to patients. While medical professionals are clear about using marijuana as a potential treatment option for a number of health conditions, however, they are concerned about what its long-term affects may be.