The use of marijuana is a contentious issue globally, with many politicians calling for the legalization of the drug.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, who said alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, is the latest to join the cause.

Former IFP MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, who died of cancer, tabled a bill in 2014 that would decriminalise the use of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes.

The use of marijuana among IT professionals is also nothing new.

In 2014, FBI director James Comey said the agency may have to relook its “no-tolerance” stance on marijuana use to attract the best computer programmers and hackers to fight cyber criminals.

South African IT professionals and marijuana use

MyBroadband’s latest lifestyle survey, which was completed 2,020 respondents, showed that 16.26% of South African IT professional smoked marijuana in the last year.

Designers – which includes website designers, graphic designers, and multimedia professionals – had the highest percentage of marijuana use at 29%.

They were followed by Internet, e-commerce, and website management professionals at 25%, and IT security specialists at 20%.

The graphic below shows the percentage of marijuana users per IT profession.

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