Support for Cannabis Legalization Crosses Party Lines, Pew Finds

Public support for legalizing cannabis now runs deep enough across party lines that even the groups most historically resistant to reform show majority support in some form — a finding from a new Pew Research Center survey with direct implications for state legislators still weighing expansion and for the ongoing federal scheduling debate.

The survey polled 8,512 U.S. adults from January 20 to 26, 2026, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points. Overall, 55% say cannabis should be legal for both medical and recreational use, and another 33% say it should be legal for medical use only. Just 11% say the drug should remain entirely illegal.

Inside the Numbers

The partisan breakdown is where the data carries the most weight for anyone watching state-level legislative calendars. Two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents — 67% — support legalization for all adult uses. Among Republicans and GOP leaners, 44% favor both medical and recreational use, with another 39% backing medical-only access. Add those together and roughly 83% of Republicans favor legal cannabis in some form, approaching the 94% of Democrats who say the same.

The most notable figure in Pew’s demographic breakdown is the convergence at the ideological center. Conservative and moderate Democrats (56%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (54%) show nearly identical support for both medical and recreational legalization. The partisan gap is sustained primarily at the poles: liberal Democrats back full legalization at 80%, while conservative Republicans sit at 38%.

Age produces the next largest split. Adults under 30 are the most supportive, at 63% backing both uses. That falls to 51% for the 50-to-64 cohort and to 34% for adults 75 and older. Even in the oldest group, outright opposition to any form of legalization barely breaks one in eight.

Across racial and ethnic groups, Black Americans (61%) and White Americans (58%) show the highest support for full legalization, followed by Hispanic Americans (45%). Asian American support stands at 34%, though Pew notes those estimates cover English-speaking respondents only.

A Stable Floor Against a Fragmented State Map

Pew’s trend line points to entrenchment rather than fresh momentum. The Center notes that views “have held relatively steady since 2019,” marking a plateau after decades of rapid growth. Gallup’s separate tracking series — which asks only whether cannabis should be legal, without specifying the type of use — registered 64% support in 2025, down from a peak of 70% in 2023 but still roughly double the 31% recorded in 2000.

The January 2026 survey also asked Americans to assess their own state’s cannabis laws, a more granular question with real relevance for state-level policymaking. Nationally, 36% say the laws are about right, 21% say they are too strict, and 19% say they are not strict enough. The breakdown by state type is considerably sharper. In states where cannabis is legal for both recreational and medical use, just 7% call the laws too strict and 47% say they’re calibrated correctly. In states where cannabis is entirely prohibited, four in ten residents say the laws are too strict — a pressure reading that state legislators in holdout jurisdictions are likely aware of.

The National Conference of State Legislatures currently counts 24 states and the District of Columbia as having legalized recreational and medical use; another 24 maintain medical programs of varying scope. Only Idaho and Kansas retain full prohibition. More than half of Americans — 53%, by Pew’s count — now live where recreational use is legal.

In some states that have already legalized, officials are actively running public education campaigns aimed at residents who remain skeptical about safety, a sign that legal states see managing public perception as an ongoing task rather than a settled one.

That expanding state map continues to outpace federal law, where cannabis remains a controlled substance. The Trump administration has taken steps to ease certain regulations on medical cannabis, and the question of further federal scheduling reform remains unresolved. A separate 2024 Pew survey found 52% of Americans believe legalizing recreational cannabis has benefited local economies, and 42% say it has made the criminal justice system fairer — views that provide some political cushion for pro-reform positions across the aisle.

For operators, retailers, and advocates monitoring state legislative sessions, Pew’s January 2026 data reflects a public that isn’t evenly divided on the underlying question. The remaining friction sits in the gap between where Americans already are and where state and federal law continues to lag.