ANALYSIS | Smoking marijuana is more popular now than smoking tobacco

Study explains benefits of legalizing cannabis in the US 0:47

(CNN) --  

"It's the economy, stupid," Democratic operative James Carville once remarked.

Normally, that statement is valid when it comes to elections.

But, as we have seen in the changing political tides since the Roe v.

Wade, sometimes the economy takes a backseat to social issues.

However, abortion won't be the only important social issue on voters' minds this year.

Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in several states, including Arkansas, Maryland and Missouri.

• Legalization of marijuana would prevent the use of synthetic versions in the US, according to a study

The opportunity for voters to decide whether marijuana should be legal comes at a time when recently released polls suggest cannabis is more popular than ever.

With marijuana peaking and the tides turning, we begin our weekly roundup of what a political week it was.

Marijuana popularity reaches an all time high

Every once in a while, in the polls, there's a big changing of the guard.

That happened a few weeks ago, when Gallup released data on marijuana and tobacco use in the United States.

Two long-term trends finally collided.

For the first time in Gallup polling, more Americans (16%) said they had smoked marijuana and only 11% had smoked a tobacco cigarette in the past week.

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This is probably not a big surprise to those walking the streets of my neighborhood in New York.

There are shops selling cannabis paraphernalia everywhere you look, and the streets smell like what I imagine scared parents think a rock concert smells like.

However, around the time humans landed on the Moon (1969), the idea that marijuana would one day be more popular than cigarettes was inconceivable.

A Gallup poll from that year found that only 4% of Americans admitted to having tried marijuana, let alone smoked it regularly.

Today, 48% of Americans say they have at least tried it.

That same year (1969), 40% of Americans said they smoked cigarettes in the same week.

This was the lowest percentage recorded by Gallup between 1944 and 1972 of those who said they had smoked a cigarette in the past week.

• The most powerful marijuana generates the greatest addiction worldwide, according to a study

Marijuana and tobacco use trends have been going in opposite directions for a few decades now.

In 1985, nearly as many Americans said they had tried marijuana (33%) as smoked a cigarette in the past week (35%).

Cigarette consumption has been declining ever since.

In 2013, only 19% of Americans smoked cigarettes at least once a week.

Meanwhile, 38% of Americans told Gallup that they had tried marijuana that year.

This was the same year that 7% said they currently smoke marijuana.

The trend for more marijuana smokers is driven, perhaps not surprisingly, by young people.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported last week that more young adults used marijuana in 2021 than in any previous year.

Nearly a third (30%) of surveyed adults under the age of 35 admitted to Gallup this year that they smoke marijuana.

This figure is significantly higher than that of those between 35 and 54 years old (16%) or over 55 years old (7%).

Smoking tobacco, on the other hand, isn't seen as cool.

Only 8% of adults under the age of 35 smoke cigarettes at least once a week.

A slightly higher number of adults ages 35-54 (10%) or ages 55 and older (14%) say they have.

The increased rates of marijuana use have important political implications.

As I've noted in the past, a record percentage of Americans (more than two-thirds, according to Gallup) say they favor the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana have been passed in recent years in Democratic states (eg, New Jersey), bipartisan states (eg, Arizona), and Republican states (eg, Montana).

This year, we shouldn't be surprised if it passes in other Democratic states like Maryland and even Republican states like South Dakota.

Again, this would be shocking if it had been said some 50 years ago.

Only 12% favored marijuana legalization in 1969. Just a decade ago, the country was divided on marijuana legalization in Gallup polls.

Undoubtedly, times have changed.

Marijuana useTrendsTobacco use