Let's Grow Our Own

(Burlington, VT), Dec. 05, 2017 -- A 2017 nation-wide survey suggests millions of Americans would grow marijuana at home – if it was legal.  According to the survey, an estimated 38.8 million adults[1] would ‘grow your own’ for personal use if growing cannabis was legalized – gardeners and non-gardeners alike.  The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll in January of this year and commissioned by Green State Gardener, a national e-commerce company that helps growers of medicinal herbs by selling virtually all the equipment they need to succeed.  A flagship Green State Gardener store operates in Burlington, VT.

 “A year or two of research doesn’t establish a trend yet, but the jump in these numbers is pretty significant,” says industry analyist Paul Cohen. “The largest number of adults most likely to grow marijuana themselves are 18 to 34 year olds, followed by baby boomers aged 55+.” 

The survey finds the number of adults who want to legally grow marijuana for personal use increased from 10% of adults in 2015 to 16% in 2017. The age group most likely to grow their own if legal is millennials, 18-34 years old. Millennials’ interest in ‘grow your own’ if legal increased from 15% in 2015 to 19% in 2017

“We now have several years of survey results that show a growing number of gardeners and non-gardeners wanting to grow at home,” says Cohen, president and research director of Cohen Grassroots Research, Inc. “So this survey confirms what we saw in 2015.” 

Among other findings this year’s survey shows:

• 62 percent of adults think medicinal use of marijuana should be legalized
• 41 percent of adults think possession of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized
• 38.8 million, or 16% of all adults, would grow marijuana if legal. Growing marijuana for personal use increases the number of gardeners in the US by 9% to 152.1 million

  There is a free infographic at Dropbox.

Will Raap, a leading VT advocate of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use, and the co-founder of Green State Gardener notes that nearly six in ten adults surveyed think medical marijuana should be legalized. “It’s an amazing plant that has been vilified since prohibition in the 1930’s. Legalization of medical marijuana makes it clear we have only begun to understand its value.”

29 states have legalized medical marijuana and Raap believes that the value of cannabis for medicinal use is driving the hefty increase in interest in growing marijuana at home.

“We’re also seeing feedback from states and countries that have legalized adult-use cannabis and the world has not collapsed,” says Raap.

Survey methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Green State Gardener from January 28 - February 1, 2017 among 2077 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Paul Cohen at [email protected]

About Green State Gardener

Green State Gardener is an intensive, indoor and small space gardening and DIY lifestyle brand company targeting younger and urban gardeners.  We empower our customers to grow, process and use their own plant-based medicines by providing the best tools, materials, kits, and expert advice. When we partner with and learn from nature, we all win.

[1] Based 242.8 million individuals - Total U.S. Adult Population 18+ (Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates)

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dfb796d8-b5f5-4430-ba0c-0167a6a7da15

Kelsy Raap
Green State Gardener
(802)448-0706
[email protected]