Marijuana Use Among Americans Has More Than Doubled Since 2013: Gallup

Marijuana

Gallup reports the percentage adults in the U.S. who say they smoke marijuana has more than doubled since 2013.

Gallup has tracked marijuana use for more than a decade. The latest data released this month shows:

  • Marijuana use has risen from 7% of U.S. adults in 2013 to 15% in 2024.
  • Men are more likely than women to say they smoke marijuana.
  • Democrats (23%) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (10%) to report using marijuana.
  • Regionally, the highest rates of marijuana usage are in the West (19%), Midwest (16%) and East (16%). Marijuana use is lower in the South, where 11% report using it.

The increase in marijuana use is troubling, given how research continues to show that marijuana is both addictive and harmful.

A study published in JAMA Otolaryngology found daily marijuana use is linked to a higher risk of head and neck cancers.

Marijuana can damage adolescent brains — resulting in permanent loss in IQ, difficulty thinking and problem-solving, reduced coordination, and increased risk of psychosis.

A large study published in February found marijuana use is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Another study published last year found heavy users faced about 60% higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular problems.

The list goes on.

As marijuana use increases in America, people need to understand: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Canada Orders TikTok to Stop Business Operations Over National Security Concerns

Social Media,

The Wall Street Journal reports authorities in Canada have order social media giant TikTok to stop its business operations in the country, citing national security concerns.

With approximately one billion users worldwide — including 135 million or more in the U.S. — TikTok is regarded as one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet.

However, its parent company ByteDance is headquartered in China, and the platform has come under fire time and again for serving kids a steady “diet of darkness” online and struggling to protect private user data from entities in China, such as the Chinese Communist Party.

In September the Wall Street Journal highlighted how TikTok let accounts linked to the Chinese government spread misleading content targeting U.S. voters ahead of the 2024 election.

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Justice sued TikTok for allegedly violating federal laws intended to protect children online.

Stories like these — and others — have raise serious concerns about TikTok’s operations.

Last year Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed two lawsuits against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.

The A.G.’s lawsuits allege that TikTok and ByteDance failed to fully disclose that the company is subject to Chinese laws that mandate cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China and that TikTok aggressively collects sensitive user data.

As we keep saying, social media platforms are not just websites or phone apps. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests. If the Chinese Communist Party can influence TikTok, the CCP may be able to manipulate content, influence users, and harvest data on one of the world’s largest social media platform. That’s a serious concern.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Planned Parenthood Asks Court to Strike Missouri’s Pro-Life Laws Under New Abortion Amendment

Abortion, Current Events, , , ,

On Tuesday, voters in Missouri narrowly passed an amendment writing abortion into the Missouri Constitution. On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging virtually all of Missouri’s good, pro-life laws.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and the organization consistently opposes policies that protect women and unborn children from abortion.

Wednesday’s lawsuit challenges Missouri’s many pro-life measures, including the state’s good laws that:

  • Prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother
  • Require abortionists to give women information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives
  • Require abortionists to give women 72 hours to consider all options before an abortion
  • Protect unborn children from being aborted due to their race or sex or due to being at risk for Down Syndrome
  • Require abortion facilities to be licensed and inspected by the state
  • Require abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges in case the woman experiences complications from abortion
  • Outline how abortion data is recorded and reported to the state for statistical purposes
  • Prohibit telemed abortions in Missouri
  • Prevent healthcare professionals other than doctors from performing abortions
  • Require abortionists to maintain various plans and agreements for handling abortion complications

This is not the first time pro-abortion groups have challenged commonsense abortion regulations in court. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU challenged reasonable pro-life laws in Ohio after an abortion amendment passed in that state last year.

Informed-consent requirements and facility inspection standards protect women from dangerous abortion practices, but those are the kinds of laws pro-abortion groups are challenging in court.

It does not seem likely that Missouri voters want unreported abortions happening in unlicensed facilities, but the state is facing that possibility now that this abortion amendment has passed.

It’s worth pointing out that Arkansas’ pro-life laws are very similar to Missouri’s — meaning that an abortion amendment in Arkansas likely would jeopardize the very same good laws.

All of this serves as a warning about what can happen when states write sweeping, pro-abortion language into their state constitutions.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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