Sometimes it is not what you think – but here are the top 10 reasons people consume marijuana.

Some of the top reasons people drink alcohol is to relax, for enjoyment, to be part of a group, to avoid physical and/or psychological pain, to experiment and for rebellion.  It has been around for thousands of years used in religious ceremonies, medical treatments, sensual moments and more. But, what are the top 10 reasons people consume marijuana today?  Well, there is some data, and it varies a little by age.

With legalization, all of Canada and over 50% of the US have access to legal marijuana, leading to it becoming more accepted.  Over 85% believe it should be legal in some form and the federal government has acknowledge is has health properties.

RELATED: Science Says Medical Marijuana Improves Quality Of Life

Psychology Today published an article with the information. They took data from four different studies to discover use reasons and published some of the findings. The papers are typically based on secondary research. In other words, they rely on surveys and data collected from other sources which they use to build a “picture” of the average consumer.

Age does play a significant role for motivation. College freshmen make different decisions based on their limited life experience and social environment.  The first study looked at possible motivators for entering college students.

“The most frequently reported reasons included enjoyment/fun, conformity,  experimentation, social enhancement, boredom, and relaxation.”

Social acceptance was another high ranking category in this age group and it makes sense. When you’re finally “out of the nest”, you need a conduit to engage with other people. If people are smoking weed, you may feel slightly more inclined to try to “fit in”.

RELATED: 8 Reasons Why College Students Use Cannabis

Post college age is where the majority of consumers exist. Another study looked at this demographic to understand motivations for consuming cannabis. Not surprisingly, there is a far more nuanced list of reasons than the college aged demographic. According to researchers here are the top 10 reasons people consume marijuana.

1. Relaxation
2. Feeling good
3. Medical uses
4. Inspiration
5. New ways of looking at things
6. Coping with depression and anxiety
7. Forgetting one’s worries
8. Enjoyment of movies or music
9. Better sleep
10. Coping with boredom

Similar to alcohol, the top reason is recreation. But unlike alcohol, the next major reason is medical use, with a significant about of people using it to treat a variety of issues including chronic pain, cancer, seizures, anxiety, and more.

Coping with stress and anxiety is further down on the list, something different from alcohol.  But using substances to escape from long term issues is rather productive.  Like a glass at the end of the day, a gummy or puff from a vape it can just take the edge a rough day.  But doing it too much and indulging to much could be a reason to evaluate the motive.

The study researchers shared “Users are for the most part very self aware of their consumption habits, and alters their behavior when they see it as problematic.”