The stigma is gone — and the fastest-growing customer isn't who you'd guess

Most U.S. adults now say marijuana use is socially acceptable — and that shift is no longer just a story about younger generations. It's showing up across age groups and across the political spectrum, a genuinely different picture than the one that defined the plant's public image for decades.

The part worth paying attention to as an operator: older adults are one of the fastest-growing groups folding cannabis into their routines, often reaching for it as a wellness tool rather than a recreational one. That's a very different customer than the stereotype most cannabis marketing was built around, and most brand voices, packaging, and dispensary layouts still aren't built for them.

It tracks with a broader market shift away from bulk, high-THC-only product toward more curated, terpene-forward experiences — what some in the industry are calling "intentional consumption." Shoppers increasingly want a specific effect, not just a bigger number on the label.

For brands and dispensaries still marketing exclusively to the 21-to-35 stoner archetype, this is a gap. The customer base has broadened faster than the marketing has.