A majority of Americans now say weed just isn't that dangerous

A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55% of American adults now say marijuana use isn't dangerous — including 27% who say it's "not at all dangerous" — against 37% who call it dangerous and just 13% who go as far as "very dangerous." Pulse Opinion Research ran the poll by phone and online September 8–10 among 1,234 adults, with a margin of error around ±3 points.

The shift from a year ago is small but consistent: in September 2025, 42% of respondents called marijuana dangerous and 51% called it not dangerous. Both numbers moved the same direction again this year — fewer people worried, more people not.

It's one more data point in a trend the newsroom has tracked all year: a Gallup poll in August found more Americans now smoke weed than cigarettes, and a SAMHSA release in July had daily cannabis use topping daily alcohol and cigarette use. Public perception keeps drifting toward "normal" faster than federal policy has moved to match it.

For operators, the gap between how customers actually feel about the product and how the law still treats it is the whole ballgame — it's a big part of why banking, advertising and insurance access still lag behind where public opinion already sits.