Whether you’re one of those people shouting “legalize it” as you light up a joint, or a quiet smoker who only tokes up in their own backyard (but only when no one can smell it), it’s hard to deny that marijuana is becoming more and more popular among Americans who use it medically and/or recreationally. But with only four states — and the District of Columbia — making recreational use legal, it can be difficult to decide where you should live if you love smoking, eating, vaping, or drinking your weed. Fortunately, Estately’s done some of the work for you and ranked each state in terms of its “marijuana enthusiasm.” Good news? Heavy tokers will want to consider buying a home in Colorado, where smoking on the street will earn you a “sure smells good” from strangers and many houses are priced at a hilariously reasonable $420,000 (Source: personal experience from a trip to Denver last week). Bad news? If you live in Utah, Iowa, or either of the Dakotas, you may want to consider moving if marijuana availability and affordability matter to you.
Estately created their rankings based on the following criteria:
Marijuana users—percentage of people reporting marijuana use in the previous month (source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
Marijuana affordability—average cost of high quality and low quality marijuana (source: PriceofWeed.com)
Interest in Marijuana—Cannabis-related Google searches (source: Google Trends)
Legal status of marijuana—recreational, medicinal, decriminalized, illegal (source: Drug Policy Alliance)
Publicly expressed interest in Marijuana—Facebook interest in marijuana-themed publications—High Times, Cannabis Now Magazine, 420 Magazine, Cannabis Culture, SKUNK Magazine (Source: Facebook user data)
The results are somewhat surprising. While no one would bat an eye seeing Colorado and Washington at the top of the list, who’d ever think that Michigan, Maine and Rhode Island would beat out California — where getting a medical marijuana card is as easy as telling your doctor you have headaches sometimes — in the rankings?
Here’s the full list, courtesy of Estately:
And here’s what that looks like on a map, if you’re more visually inclined:
Considering how often people are portrayed smoking weed in New York, it’s surprising how far down the list it is. Less surprising, of course, is how enthusiastic residents of Nevada and Vermont are about the green stuff. With the exception of Utah, of course, it’s clear that the best place for serious marijuana enthusiasts to live is on the West coast. Better buy a house now before property values go even further through the roof.
(Via Estately)
