Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this brief explores people’s perceptions and opinions related to cannabis and cannabis use prior to its 2023 legalization in Minnesota. The brief begins with an overview of the context of cannabis policy and use in the United States before moving into analysis of perceptions on cannabis prior to legalization. Specifically, researchers analyzed respondents’ opinions on:

• How easy or hard it would be to obtain cannabis
• Perceived risk associated with smoking cannabis
• Disapproval (or lack thereof) of cannabis use by adults (age 18+) and youth (age 12-17)

Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) and Cannabis Research Center (CRC) present data on these three topics for Minnesota specifically and for the U.S. as a whole.

Examining data prior to legalization helps both researchers and the public understand Minnesota’s perceptions and attitudes surrounding cannabis before policy changes – then, as we move forward, we can compare this to post-policy data to understand what has changed, what hasn’t changed, and, hopefully, begin to answer common questions regarding cannabis use and legalization.

Will cannabis use increase with legalization? Will increased consumption lead to greater public health harms? Will rates of use increase for youth? Will perceived risk of use decrease with legalization?

“The answer [to these questions] may depend, in part, on whether the changing legal status of cannabis also changes social norms and people’s perceptions about cannabis, such as reducing social stigma associated with cannabis use,” says SHADAC and CRC Researcher Colin Planalp.

The data in this brief are intended to provide information to Minnesota policymakers as they set up the state’s regulatory framework surrounding cannabis. It also aims to give Minnesotans helpful information as they navigate the new choices that come with the lifting of decades of cannabis prohibition.

Continued research and monitoring of these and other issues will be crucial as cannabis policy, attitudes, and social norms evolve. Examining and understanding these opinions and perceptions can potentially reveal hints at how the cannabis landscape may change as a result of legalization.

Read the brief in full here. Additionally, SHADAC and the CRC authored a companion brief using the same survey data to examine the potential public health implications of cannabis policy in Minnesota. You can find that brief here.

Interested in learning more about cannabis policy in Minnesota, substance use, and related topics? Check out the following resources:

• SHADAC blog accompanying this brief - “Measuring Perceptions and Opinions on Cannabis Use in Minnesota” 
• Brief on the United States Opioid Crisis – “Opioid Crisis in the Pandemic Era”
• Cannabis Research Center Website
• Explore data on the topic of substance use, alcohol-involved deaths, and more on State Health Compare