LOS ANGELES, Calif. — 2018 may be coming to a close, but it opened the door for people interested in modern cannabis culture, aka the “canna-curious”.  During the year, an overwhelming number of visitors to Civilized.life researched cannabis legality and consumption, making canna-curious Civilized’s 2018 word of the year.

Canna-curious is a new term coined to describe the growing interest in cannabis. Given the wave of cannabis legalization across North America, the term reflects the desire for everyone, novices and experts alike, to learn more about cannabis – from the power of the flower to the latest in news and culture.

According to the media and lifestyle brand’s own statistics, the numbers certainly favored the winning word. Visitors turned out in droves to learn two things about cannabis this year: the legal age to purchase it, and how to consume it. In fact, Civilized’s educational videos were viewed well over two million times, and seven of the year’s top 10 articles answered “how old” or “how to” questions, like how old you have to be to consume cannabis in markets across Canada and the U.S., and the easiest edibles to make at home.

“Canna-curious is a word that truly captures the spirit of the year,” says Derek Riedle, publisher of Civilized. “As legalization takes hold, the doors have opened up to a whole new tribe of people who are making their own decisions based on facts, not fiction. They’re smart, sophisticated and doing their research because they want to do it right. That kind of informed curiosity is what’s driving the market right now. Culture and conversations evolve rapidly, and the canna-curious are leading the pack.”

According to the 2018 Fall Cannabis Culture Poll (developed jointly by Burson Cohn & Wolfe, PSB Research and Civilized), growing numbers of consumers support the legalization of cannabis in some form, and a majority believe it has a positive impact on the economy. Research from the annual Cannabis Culture Poll reveals that cannabis is moving into the mainstream across the U.S.

“The great thing about curiosity is that it compels people to get informed. The transition from canna-curious to canna-informed is the spark that’s igniting logical policy discussions that will result in even more markets opening up to cannabis in 2019,” says Riedle.