Twitter analysis finds most cannabis discussions are political, with majority favoring legalization worldwide
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.
Quick Facts
What This Study 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.
Key Numbers
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 They Did This
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.
Why This Research 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 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.
What This Study Doesn't 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.
Questions This Raises
- ?How does social media cannabis sentiment compare to actual use patterns?
- ?Do pro-legalization social media environments correlate with reduced risk perception?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 68% of cannabis-related tweets from Oceania supported legalization
- Evidence Grade:
- Systematic social media analysis with geographic scope, but Twitter users represent a skewed sample and viral tweet threshold excludes most discourse.
- Study Age:
- Published 2025, data from 2018-2022
- Original Title:
- Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Discourse: Mixed Methods Study.
- Published In:
- JMIR infodemiology, 5, e65319 (2025)
- Authors:
- Castillo-Toledo, Consuelo, Donat-Vargas, Carolina, Montero-Torres, María, Lara-Abelenda, Francisco J, Mora, Fernando, Alvarez-Mon, Melchor, Quintero, Javier, Álvarez-Mon, Miguel Ángel
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06170
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What was the most common cannabis topic on Twitter?
Political discussions about cannabis policy and legalization were the most frequently mentioned topic in America, Europe, and Asia.
Were personal cannabis experiences mostly positive or negative?
Mostly positive across all continents, with Oceania recording the highest rate at nearly 61% positive.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06170APA
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
MLA
Castillo-Toledo, Consuelo, et al. "Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Discourse: Mixed Methods Study.." JMIR infodemiology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.2196/65319
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Di..." RTHC-06170. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/castillo-toledo-2025-global-influence-of-cannabis
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.