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Americans are searching for weed more than ever, according to Google

marijuanan cannabis
Activist Ray Turmel holds a bag of medical marijuana while he smokes a marijuana cigarette, as he calls for the total legalization of marijuana, outside the building where the federal election Munk Debate on Canada’s Foreign Policy is being held in Toronto, Canada, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

US search interest for weed rose about 75% from 2004 to 2016, according to Google Trends.

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This is just one more sign of a sea change in popular opinion about weed. Just recently, a Lancet study of US adults from 2002 to 2014 found an increase in usage from 10.4% to 13.3% and an increase in people perceiving no risk in occasionally smoking from 6% to 16%. And of course, legalization is gradually spreading across the country.

The chart below shows searches for the topic of cannabis, which Google gathers using deep learning.

cannabis US historical
Google

In case you're wondering, state interest is highest in Colorado:

cannabis US states
Google

Metro interest is highest in Eureka, California:

cannabis US metros
Google

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

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