Survey Asks: Is Cannabis or Alcohol More Harmful?

On March 10, 2025, international online research data and analytics technology group YouGov revealed results from a survey concerning opinions on cannabis and alcohol use (1). The survey asked the question, “Which one do you think is more harmful to a person’s health?” with the four response options being “Regular alcohol use,” “Regular marijuana use,” “Neither,” and “Not sure.” Nearly 20,000 US adults were surveyed.

Nearly 60% of the respondents indicated they viewed regular alcohol use as more harmful, while 19% thought regular cannabis was more harmful. Additionally, 10% responded with “Neither,” and 13% responded with “Not sure.”

Data on region, gender, politics, age, and race was also collected in the survey. Notably, by age, 50% of 18-29 year olds responded that alcohol use was more harmful, along with 61% of 30-44 year olds, 62% of 45-64 year olds, and 57% of respondents ages 65 and above.

On the same day, YouGov also published results on the question, “Which do you personally enjoy using more?” with the response options and results being: Alcohol (27%), Marijuana (13%), Both equally (5%), Neither (48%), Not sure (3%), and Prefer not to say (4%).

Results from a similar question, “Which do you personally use more often?” was also published. The results were: Alcohol (27%), Marijuana (11%), Both equally (4%), Neither (52%), Not sure (2%), Prefer not to say (4%).

Several studies have been conducted on the changing patterns of cannabis and alcohol use. One study published in February 2025 in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine investigated possible connections between cannabis and alcohol use, and adult-use cannabis legalization laws in the US (2). Researchers analyzed representative data from over 10 years, finding “limited effects on population-wide alcohol and tobacco consumption post-legalization,” as well as a decrease in alcohol use in young adults ages 18 to 29.

Another study, “Daily or near-daily cannabis and alcohol use by adults in the United States: A comparison across age groups,” published in Addiction in December 2024 measured the habits of cannabis and alcohol use in adults over time (3). This study focused on differences in cannabis and alcohol use across various age periods of adulthood, using data from the annual report Monitoring the Future Panel Study for a total of 389,649 responses from 1988 to 2023, including responses from about 20,000 adults who were ages 19–65 in 2023. Among young adults (age 19-30), daily or near-daily cannabis use increased by more than 75% from 2013 to 2023. In the same age group, daily or near-daily alcohol use has decreased by approximately 35% in the same time period.

References

1. YouGov. Which one do you think is more harmful to a person’s health? https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2025/03/10/feafe/1 (accessed Mar 11, 2025).
2. Colli, M. Study Highlights Retail Cannabis Sales May Play A Role in Reduced Drinking with Young Adults https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/study-highlights-retail-cannabis-sales-may-play-a-role-in-reduced-drinking-with-young-adults (accessed Mar 11, 2025).
3. McEvoy, E. Study Examines Shifting Trends in Daily Cannabis and Alcohol Use for Adults in the US https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/study-examines-shifting-trends-in-daily-cannabis-and-alcohol-use-for-adults-in-the-us (accessed Mar 11, 2025).