There’s a lot of misinformation out there about marijuana and psychedelics consumption in America. It takes a scientific study to sort through the, um, purple haze.

A new federally funded study, released August 17, reveals that adult consumption of marijuana and psychedelics in the U.S. last year reached record levels.

The annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, conducted by the University of Michigan with logistical and financial support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), shows that past-year marijuana use among those aged 19-30 reached 44% in 2022, while 28% of adults aged 35-50 reported they used cannabis in the last 12 months.

The report states: “In 2022, we are seeing that marijuana and hallucinogen use, and vaping of nicotine and marijuana, are higher than ever among young adults ages 19 to 30.”

From reefer madness to reefer sanity…

Despite the disingenuous claims of the anti-pot prohibitionist movement, underage marijuana use has remained stable.

About 29% of young adults said they used marijuana in the past month, and 11% said they consumed daily. The older segment reported past-month cannabis use at 17% and daily consumption at 7%.

The MTF survey shows that adults are using marijuana more often as additional states implement legalization. However, while opponents of marijuana legalization have consistently warned that legalizing marijuana would encourage underage use, the study’s empirical data argue otherwise (see the following tweet):

The stoner myth is falling by the wayside, along with preconceptions about how legalization puts underaged youth at risk.

The survey data released last Thursday notes that the “legal status of marijuana at the state level, as well as how it is talked about in the literature and society at large, is changing.”

The rate of past-year use of hallucinogenic substances among those aged 19-30 reached 8% in 2022, nearly double the rate from five years ago when only 4.5% of young adults said they’d ingested hallucinogens in the past 12 months. Conversely, 4% of adults aged 35-50 used psychedelics in the past year, which is four times the rate from five years ago.

Data for the 2022 survey of adults were collected via online and paper surveys from April 2022 through October 2022. Researchers divided the data into two age groups to conduct trend analyses: 19-30 years old and 35-50 years old.

The gold standard…

Psychedelics have gone mainstream. Big Pharma and Big Medicine are taking notice. So have individual and institutional investors.

Case in point: Johns Hopkins University recently opened a center for psychedelic research. The center, with $17 million from donors, aims to give psychedelic-based medicines a foothold in the medical establishment. Johns Hopkins’ scientists are studying compounds like LSD and psilocybin for a range of mental health problems, including anorexia, addiction, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The psychedelic research center recently announced that its team is seeking individuals with depression who also drink alcohol regularly to participate in a clinical study examining the effects of psilocybin, the psychoactive substance found in naturally occurring mushrooms.

The study will investigate the psychological effects of psilocybin, including whether it can alleviate depression and heavy drinking.

Johns Hopkins is considered the gold standard in health services; its embrace of psychedelics research gives these substances enormous credibility as medical treatments.

Read This Story: Take Two Shrooms and Call Me in The Morning

The first half of 2023 has witnessed accelerating efforts in bold drug policy reform in the U.S., with the introduction of several new bills at the state and local levels that seek the legal normalization of psychedelics, especially psilocybin.

Every time one of these laws gets enacted, psychedelic drugs get closer to mass consumer use, creating new investment opportunities.

As I’ve just explained, the stigma surrounding marijuana and psychedelics is fast disappearing. That’s why I’ve launched an investment service called Marijuana Profit Alert.

My publication Marijuana Profit Alert provides specific, actionable advice on the best investments in the psychotropic revolution. Visit this URL to learn more.

John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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