Californians are becoming more open about their use of marijuana

The recent debut of recreational marijuana sales in California appears to be making the state’s cannabis users more comfortable about openly discussing their lifestyle, says a large new survey by Eaze, a San Francisco company that markets legal weed online.

Eaze surveyed 4,852 of its customers on March 27-28, asking questions that focused on how willing people are to talk about their cannabis use with family, friends, co-workers, bosses, and anyone who’s following them on social media.

The company does not have comparative data that asks the same specific questions. But Eaze says the survey reflects the shifting attitudes it has been seeing, particularly since recreational sales began at licensed stores in California on January 1.

A sample of the findings:

— 52 percent of respondents said that the legalization of recreational marijuana has made talking about cannabis consumption easier.

— 25 percent said they have consumed cannabis with a family member since so-called “adult use” marijuana went on sale in stores.

— 47 percent of parents are open with their kids about their own consumption. And mothers (61 percent) are more likely to be open than fathers (37 percent).

— 72 percent of adults said they are open with their parents about their consumption. This is more common among baby boomers (79 percent) than members of Generation Z (67 percent). The latter generation involves people born in 1996 or later.

The survey adds that, “As cannabis continues to be understood as a wellness tool, the topic of consumption continues to become normalized, even in the workplace.” That attitude shows in the results:

— 65 percent of the respondents say they are open about their consumption with work colleagues, but only 39 percent do so with their boss.

— A majority (65 percent) of the respondents who do conceal their use of marijuana do so because they’re concerned about their careers.

— Men (65 percent) are more concerned about the social stigma attached to cannabis than women (35 percent).

— Women of all generations are more likely than men (47 percent to 42 percent) to post about 4/20 on social media. The term 4/20 refers to international marijuana day, which is held annually.

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