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).

607. Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?

Episode description