The overwhelming majority of Americans say that marijuana ought to be legal for either medical or adult use, according to nationwide polling data compiled by the politically conservative-leaning think tank, the Manhattan Institute.
The results are consistent with those of prior surveys, including a March 2024 Pew poll which also determined that only about ten percent of US adults support a blanket policy of cannabis criminalization.
Twenty-four states have legalized marijuana for adults and 39 states have passed laws regulating medical cannabis access to qualified patients.
According to the Manhattan Institute’s polling, 73 percent of respondents supported some form of marijuana legalization. Fifty-seven percent of respondents — including a majority of Democrats and Independents — believe that adults should be free to consume cannabis absent government interference as long as their behavior is not directly putting others at risk. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that adults should be able to consume marijuana recreationally in their own homes. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that those ages 21 and older should be able to legally possess and purchase adult-use marijuana products.
Most respondents (27 percent) oppose marijuana smoking in parks or other public spaces (e.g, restaurants and bars or within 30 yards of a school). Only 12 percent of respondents believe that “the possession and sale of marijuana should be illegal under all circumstances.” (Fifteen percent of those surveyed offered no opinion.)
Commenting on the polling data, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “At a time when voters and politicians are largely divided, there is one issue that Americans largely agree upon: It’s time to legalize and regulate marijuana,” he said.
The survey sampled opinions from 2,304 respondents. Of those, 41 percent identified themselves as politically conservative, 30 percent as moderate, and 29 percent as liberal.
In a September op-ed, Manhattan Institute fellow Charles Lehman criticized President-elect Donal Trump for expressing support for state-level marijuana legalization. In his commentary, Lehman described cannabis as a “personally and socially harmful substance that breeds … disorder.”
The entire survey is available from the Manhattan Institute. Additional polling data is available from NORML.
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