Across all continents, political debate dominated cannabis-related tweets, and most personal experiences shared were positive, suggesting health risks may be underestimated in public discourse.
Public health communicators, policy researchers, social media analysts
68% of cannabis-related tweets from Oceania supported legalization
What the researchers found
Political discussions were the most common cannabis topic in America, Europe, and Asia; personal testimonies dominated in Oceania and Africa; legalization support was highest in Oceania (68%) and held majority in most regions.
Why it matters
Social media discourse shapes public risk perception, and the dominance of positive personal accounts alongside pro-legalization sentiment suggests health messaging may not be reaching public conversation effectively.
The numbers in context
Oceania had highest positive personal experiences (60.93% of tweets) and highest pro-legalization tweets (68.13%); about half of European and Asian tweets supported legalization.
How the study worked
Mixed methods analysis of cannabis-related tweets (keywords: "cannabis," "marijuana," "hashish") from January 2018 to April 2022, in English and Spanish, filtered for tweets with at least 10 retweets; inductive-deductive content analysis.
What this study cannot tell us
Only tweets with 10+ retweets included, skewing toward viral content; limited to English and Spanish; Twitter users may not represent general population; data ends April 2022.
How to read the evidence
Systematic social media analysis with geographic scope, but Twitter users represent a skewed sample and viral tweet threshold excludes most discourse.
When this study was published
Published 2025, data from 2018-2022
The bigger picture
As more countries debate legalization, understanding how cannabis is discussed on social media reveals gaps between scientific evidence on risks and public perception.
Questions still open
- How does social media cannabis sentiment compare to actual use patterns? Do pro-legalization social media environments correlate with reduced risk perception?
Common questions
What was the most common cannabis topic on Twitter?
Were personal cannabis experiences mostly positive or negative?
Read the original research
Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Discourse: Mixed Methods Study.
JMIR infodemiology, 5, e65319
Citation
Castillo-Toledo, Consuelo; Donat-Vargas, Carolina; Montero-Torres, María; Lara-Abelenda, Francisco J; Mora, Fernando; Alvarez-Mon, Melchor; Quintero, Javier; Álvarez-Mon, Miguel Ángel. (2025). Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Discourse: Mixed Methods Study.. JMIR infodemiology, 5, e65319. https://doi.org/10.2196/65319