A new poll shows that the majority of Americans support cannabis legalization as voters in two states, Maryland and Missouri, became the latest to approve adult-use legalization measures in the Nov. 8 election.
RELATED: US Support for Cannabis Legalization Remains at Record 68%
Results of a Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 10-16, 2022, revealed that 88% of U.S. adults believe cannabis should be legal in some form. Fifty-nine percent said that medical and adult-use cannabis should be legal, while 30% said cannabis should be legalized for medical purposes only.
Just 10% percent of respondents said cannabis use should not be legal.
Pew Research Center reported ongoing age and partisan differences in Americans’ views on cannabis legalization. Older adults are less likely to favor adult-use legalization than younger generations, for example; only 30% respondents ages 75 and older believe cannabis should be legal for both medical and adult use, while 53% of those ages 65 to 74 said it should be legal for both purposes.
Republican support for cannabis legalization still lags behind Democrats’, Pew Research Center reported. Forty-five percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor legalizing cannabis for both medical and adult use, while 39% said it should be legal for medical purposes only. Meanwhile, 75% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents responded that cannabis should be legal for medical and adult use, while and additional 21% said it should be legal for medical purposes only.
The poll results also revealed racial and ethic differences in Americans’ views on cannabis legalization. Sixty-eight percent of Black adults and 60% of white adults said cannabis should be legal for both medical and adult use, while 49% of Hispanic and 48% of Asian adults answered the same.