607. Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?

We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol’s harms, maybe that’s a good thing. But some people worry that the legalization of cannabis has outpaced the research. (Part one of a four-part series.)

SOURCES:Jon Caulkins • , professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Yasmin Hurd • , director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. Michael Siegel • , professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University. Tom Standage • , deputy editor of The Economist.Ryan Stoa • , associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.

RESOURCES: • " Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans’ Daily Drug of Choice • ," by Christina Caron ( The New York Times, • 2024). • " Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021 • ," by Marissa B. Esser, Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi ( Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, • 2024). • " Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly Dangerous • ,'" by Ernesto Londoño ( The New York Times, • 2024). • " A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis • ," by Ryan Stoa ( The MIT Press Reader, • 2020). Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, • by Ryan Stoa (2018). • " How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat • ," by Anahad O’Connor ( The New York Times, • 2016). • " The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food? • " by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner ( The Milbank Quarterly, • 2009). A History Of The World In Six Glasses, • by Tom Standage (2005). • " Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day Adventists • ," by E. L. Wynder, F. R. Lemon, and I. J. Bross ( Cancer, • 1959).

EXTRAS: • " Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging? • " series by Freakonomics Radio • (2024). • " Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power • ," by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2024). • " Let’s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older Workers • ," by Freakonomics Radio • (2021). • " What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol? • " by Freakonomics Radio • (2014).