Coloradans’ perceptions on pot are shifting more quickly in the recreational era.
A recent survey of likely Denver voters found that by a 4-to-1 margin those polled said that alcohol is more harmful than marijuana. Consider that voters in Denver County approved the cannabis-legalizing Amendment 64 by 66-34 percent in late 2012.
The politics of pot
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The Marijuana Policy Project‘s Mason Tvert and Cannabist food writer Laurie Wolf joined marijuana editor Ricardo Baca on The Cannabist Show to discuss those shifting attitudes and why Denverites believe that marijuana causes fewer problems than alcohol.
What’s behind this rapidly growing acceptance of marijuana? Is cannabis use just becoming easier to talk about?
“It’s that simple. It’s not some crazy, complex thing. It really comes down to a conversation between siblings, or a son and his father around the dinner table,” Baca says.
What else is playing a factor? Wolf has a theory:
“Sanjay Gupta,” she says, referencing the well-known CNN medical correspondent who has made multiple documentary-style forays into the world of medical marijuana. “As the country kind of goes in a more natural way and focus, I think that people are thinking that (marijuana) would be preferable to having to deal with the issues, the side effects (of pharmaceuticals).”
