Stoner. Pothead. Loser. Couch potato. These are just a few of the choice names for individuals who choose to use a plant to self-medicate or relax. The stereotypes related to the cannabis enthusiast have been crafted over decades of lies and deceit, and in the public eye, cannabis is promoted as a harmful gateway drug only used by the lowest elements of our society. That stereotype is changing fast, as numerous high-profile individuals, like Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have come out in support of cannabis legalization and appropriate use. To further the conversation, new evidence is indicating that yes, indeed, there are numerous benefits to using cannabis for health and well-being. And within our own culture, we see it every day as high-functioning stoners operate multi-million dollar businesses, participate in physical activity, and perform their daily adult responsibilities without incident. In this episode of Cannabis Nurse Truths, we consider the high-functioning stoner, a mythical creature that is gaining in population as the US continues to move toward cannabis legalization. EPISODE RESOURCES Anderson, D.M., Fe, H.T., Liang, Y., & Sabia, J.J. (2024). Recreational marijuana laws and teen marijuana use, 1993-2021. JAMA Psychiatry, 81(8), 840–842. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.0698 Bradford, A.C., Lozano-Rojas, F., Shone, H.B., Bradford, W.D., & Abraham, A.J. (2024). Cannabis laws and utilization of medications for the treatment of mental health disorders. JAMA Network Open, 7(9), e2432021. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32021 Brenan, M. (2022, August 5). More in U.S. Say Alcohol Adversely Affects Drinkers, Society. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/395867/say-alcohol-adversely-affects-drinkers-society.aspx Brown, D. (2025, January 14). Canada's Medical Cannabis Market Remains Steady, Exports Continue to Increase. StratCann. https://stratcann.com/news/canada-medical-cannabis-market-exports-increase/ Caulkins, J. P. (2024). Changes in self-reported cannabis use in the United States from 1979 to 2022. Addiction, 119(9), 1648–1652. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16519 Cavalli, J. M., Cuttler, C., & Cservenka, A. (2025). A naturalistic examination of the acute effects of high-potency cannabis on emotion regulation among young adults: A Pilot study. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 40(1), e2915. https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2915 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, August 6). CDC Data Show Improvements in Youth Mental Health but Need for Safer and More Supportive Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0806-youth-mental-health.html Choo, E.K., Trent, S.A., Nishijima, D.K., Eichelberger, A., Kazmierczak, S., Ye, Y., Brasel, K.J., Audett, A., & Cherpitel, C.J. (2024). Risk of motor vehicle collision associated with cannabis and alcohol use among patients presenting for emergency care. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 198, 107459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2024.107459 Coley, R.L., Carey, N., Kruzik, C., Hawkins, S.S., & Baum, C.F. (2024). Recreational cannabis legalization, retail sales, and adolescent substance use through 2021. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(6), 622–625. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.0555 Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. (2022, June 15). CDPHE releases latest Healthy Kids Colorado Survey data. https://cdphe.colorado.gov/press-release/cdphe-releases-latest-healthy-kids-colorado-survey-data-0 De La Torre, I.D., Hébert, E.T., Kezbers, K.M., Walters, D., Pope, Z.C., Mao, B., Benson, L., Shi, D., Stanley, N., & Businelle, M.S. (2025). Associations between cannabis use and same-day health and substance use behaviors. Addictive Behaviors, 163, 108239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108239 English, F., & Whitehill, J.M. (2023). Risk factors for adolescent cannabis use in a state with legal recreational cannabis: The role of parents, siblings, and friends. Clinical Therapeutics, 45(6), 589–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2023.04.002 Grimm, B. (2017, April 20). 50 Most Successful Marijuana Enthusiasts You Should Know. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/50-most-successful-marijuana-enthusiasts-you-should-know-114790/zayn-malik-3-112209/ Karmakar, B., Mukherjee, G., & Kar, W. (2024). Using penalized synthetic controls on truncated data: A case study on effect of marijuana legalization on direct payments to physicians by opioid manufacturers. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2024.2406583 Marijuana Policy Project. (2025, January 9). New Data Shows Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Corresponds with Drops in Teen Use. https://www.mpp.org/news/press/new-data-shows-adult-use-cannabis-legalization-corresponds-with-drops-in-teen-use/ McCarthy, J. (2024, August 10). Fully Half of Americans Have Tried Marijuana. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/509399/...
