Legalized Pot Isn’t As Popular As It Used To Be

Legalized pot isn’t as popular as it used to be.

Since 2020, the share of voters who say the use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States has declined from 64% to 57%. The shift was driven in large part by women, among whom support has fallen 10 percentage points (to 53%) as support among men fell only marginally (to 61%).

And while the bulk of millennials still support legalized weed, support among that group has  dropped faster compared with any other age cohort (from 74% to 62% over the past few years).

The trend comes as a number of states have moved to, and as the Trump administration considers rescheduling marijuana in a “move that would benefit the cannabis industry but stop short of legalization,” per The Hill.

Along with the trended question, we also asked voters about Trump’s plan specifically.

Roughly 3 in 5 voters (61%) support reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug under federal drug laws (it’s currently classified alongside heroin and LSD). The move is more popular than legalization across the board — and is actually backed by more Democrats than Republican voters (66% to 59%).

The bottom line

Public support for rescheduling pot is good news for the president politically and the budding cannabis industry as they continue to work to ease restrictions. 

However, the trends away from favoring legalization could be a warning sign for the industry’s growth given declining support among younger Americans (especially millennials) and women as the public watches what happens and reacts to the recent spread in recreational access in a number of states.