7 In 10 Marijuana Consumers Plan To Spend More Or The Same Amount On Cannabis In 2025, Poll Finds

Nearly 7 in 10 American marijuana consumers say they plan to spend either more on cannabis or about the same amount in 2025 compared to last year—and 62 percent report using cash amid ongoing industry barriers to financial services—according to a new poll.

The survey from the financial resources company Bankrate, which was conducted by YouGov, analyzed market trends for people who reported using six different vices, including cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, casino games and sports betting.

Given that most of the vices respondents were surveyed about are federally legal, except for marijuana, it’s not especially surprising that cannabis stands as the least popular vice expenditure among each of the categories—with 28 percent reporting spending on such products.

That’s compared to 66 percent for alcohol and 64 percent for lotto tickets, for example.

Millennials aged 29-44 were the most likely to buy marijuana, at 35 percent.

Notably, 68 percent of cannabis consumers said they plan to pay more or the same amount on marijuana products in 2025. Of that group, 21 percent said they anticipate spending more on marijuana this year.

That’s a higher overall percentage than those who buy tobacco, and it’s the same as those who are purchasing alcohol.

“I certainly don’t want to shame people for their spending habits, but it’s key to take a look at where your money is going and how your spending is impacting your long-term financial goals,” Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman said in a press release.

“It’s fine to have some fun and engage in the occasional splurge, but it’s important to do so within the constraints of a solid budget,” he said. “By all means, set aside some fun money, but make sure you’re also checking off other priorities such as saving for a rainy day and paying down high-cost debt.”

The survey also found that 62 percent of respondents use cash to pay for marijuana—significantly higher than the 42 percent who said they use cash for alcohol.

The only vice category where there’s a higher prevalence of cash payments is for lotto tickets (76 percent), which is likely due in large part to laws in multiple states mandating the payment method.

The high percentage of cash-paying marijuana consumers is also tied to policy issues that advocates and stakeholders are hoping to see resolved at the federal level. Specifically, because cannabis remains federally illegal, many banks remain reluctant to service state-licensed marijuana businesses, limiting the types of payments the industry can receive.

The challenge was recently raised in multiple congressional committees that have held hearings on broader “debanking” concerns this month.

Congressional researchers also released a report detailing the subject of debanking—while making a point to address how the marijuana industry’s financial services access problem “sits at the nexus” of a state-federal policy conflict that complicates the debate.

While the SAFE Banking Act to address the issue is expected to be filed again this session—that introduction is “not imminent” as some recent reports have suggested, a spokesperson for the GOP House sponsor of the last version told Marijuana Moment last month.

The Bankrate survey separately found that 7 percent of vice consumers report incurring debt from their marijuana purchases, compared to 10 percent for sports betters, 8 percent of alcohol consumers and 7 percent for tobacco buyers.

The poll involved interviews with 2,115 American adults from December 16-18.

Meanwhile, as interest in alcohol alternatives continues to grow while more states move to legalize marijuana, a new study signals that there’s a significant market opportunity for beer makers to enter into the cannabis space with THC- and CBD-infused beverages.

The study, published in the British Food Journal last month, found that approximately 53-56 percent of people who identify as beer drinkers expressed openness to trying cannabis beverages, “with age, product knowledge and past purchasing behaviors correlating with this response.”

Another recent poll found that more than half of marijuana consumers say they drink less alcohol, or none at all, after using cannabis.

The results of the survey stack up neatly against an increasing body of scientific research indicating that consumer trends are shifting as the state-level legalization movement spreads and more adults are able to lawfully access marijuana products at licensed retailers.

For example, a survey that was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and released last month found that young adults are nearly three times more likely to use marijuana than alcohol on a daily or near-daily basis.

That survey provided more granular, age-specific findings than a similar report published last year, finding that more Americans overall smoke marijuana on a daily basis than drink alcohol every day—and that alcohol drinkers are more likely to say they would benefit from limiting their use than cannabis consumers are.

A separate study published in the journal Addiction this past May similarly found that there are more U.S. adults who use marijuana daily than who drink alcohol every day.

The new research also comes at nearly the same time as a Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) survey indicating that substitution of cannabis for alcohol is “soaring” as the state-level legalization movement expands and relative perceptions of harm shift. A significant portion of Americans also said in that poll that they substitute marijuana for cigarettes and painkillers.

A separate BI analysis from September projected that the expansion of the marijuana legalization movement will continue to post a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.

Yet another study on the impact of marijuana consumption on people’s use of other drugs that was released last year suggested that, for many, cannabis may act as a less-dangerous substitute, allowing people to reduce their intake of substances such as alcohol, methamphetamine and opioids like morphine.

Another study out of Canada, where marijuana is federally legal, found that legalization was “associated with a decline in beer sales,” suggesting a substitution effect.

The analyses comport with other recent survey data that more broadly looked at American views on marijuana versus alcohol. For example, a Gallup survey found that respondents view cannabis as less harmful than alcohol, tobacco and nicotine vapes—and more adults now smoke cannabis than smoke cigarettes.

A separate survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last June also found that Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids—and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology.

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