Half Of Americans Think The Smell Of Marijuana In Public Is A Real Problem

Just over half of Americans think the smell of weed in public has become a problem, and nearly a quarter of the country say they sincerely “hate” the stench while they’re out, according to a major new survey conducted by PSB Research, Civilized, Burson Cohn & Wolfe, and BuzzFeed News.

Attitudes in Canada, which legalized cannabis nationwide last fall, are even more severe, where three in five people think the smell of weed in pubic is a problem and nearly half report disliking or even hating it.

The survey conducted this spring reveals that even while most people in both countries support legalization, they don’t necessarily want it in their face.

Eighty-four percent of Americans reported favoring legalization for medical or recreational purposes, and 60% of Americans support making it legal for tax and sales, like alcohol. But as marijuana use increases (27% of Americans say they imbibe) and now 10 states have legalized the drug, people say they don’t want to smell it.

When asked how big of a problem the smell is in public, such as when walking down the sidewalk, 23% of Americans said it was a major problem and 28% called it a minor problem. [Read more at BuzzFeed News]