Most GOP Voters Support Weed Legalization, Says New Poll

To anyone who has ever doubted that cannabis legalization is a bipartisan issue, a new study has come out that finds that an overwhelming majority (68%) of conservative voters support federal legalization. Further, 70% of GOP voters support a state’s right to deal with the issue of cannabis reform on their own terms.

The poll, conducted by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, also found that 68% of likely 2024 Republican presidential primary and caucus voters nationally support federal cannabis reform while only 29 percent oppose. This is an increase of 10% in support over CPEAR’s 2022 polling, which showed 58% of conservative voters nationally support federal cannabis reform.

Here’s another very interesting finding: 52% of respondents said they would be more likely to support a Republican presidential nominee who supported federal legalization of adult-use cannabis and would allow individual states to decide whether it would be legal in their own state.

These findings seem to come as no surprise to Republican members of Congress. Asked to comment, Republican Ohio Congressman David Joyce said in a statement, “The polling is clear: federal cannabis prohibition is in direct contradiction to the overwhelming will of the American electorate, including a notable majority of conservative voters. I hope more of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will heed the call of their constituents and join me in working towards a safe and effectively regulated legal marketplace that respects the rights of the over 40 states that have enacted some varying degree of legality. Continued inaction is no longer tenable.”

Other findings include:

• Only 26% of GOP voters oppose letting states make the final determination (14% strongly oppose);

• Support for flexibility at the state level is strong across Republican demographic groups, with 77% of ages 21-44, 66% of ages 45+, 73% of men, 68% of women, 73% of non-college educated and 66% of college educated supporting states’ rights to decide the status of cannabis at the state level; and,

• Conversely, a candidate’s position on adult-use cannabis is not extremely salient in likely Republican primary and caucus voters’ vote. 90% said a candidate’s position on addressing inflation is the most important to them; only 34% said a candidate’s position on adult-use cannabis is important in their vote, ranking second to last (ahead of their position on climate change).

CPEAR is a nonprofit focused on establishing policy solutions for cannabis legalization and regulation.