Republican Support For Cannabis Stays Steady While Reform Remains Unclear

Pew Research Center recently published “9 facts about Americans and marijuana,” leading with the fact that the vast majority of Americans support some form of cannabis legalization. The research center reports that only one in 10 Americans thinks cannabis should be completely illegal in all contexts. Support for cannabis access and legalization can be found on all sides of the political spectrum, including continued rising support from republican voters. 

Researchers found that 43% of republicans and GOP-leaning independents favor legalization for both medical and recreational uses. The numbers also show that moderate and liberal republicans have the same levels of support for legalization as conservative and moderate democrats, with 56-57% of voters supporting legalization.

In 2017, republican support for legalization hit the majority level for the first time, according to a Gallup poll that found 51% support among self-identified conservatives. Compared to polls from 2003 and 2005 that found republican support to be at just 20%, it’s clear that GOP support for cannabis has been on the rise. 

Recent Examples of Republican Support

Earlier this year, Texas republicans brought forth Senate Bill 3, an attempt to eliminate most of the hemp market, end thousands of jobs, and eliminate access to medicine for many patients. 

Despite Texas voters overwhelmingly opting for republican candidates in presidential, Senate, and House races, Senate Bill 3 was unpopular among Texas republican voters. Ragnar Research Partners found that only 37% of voters supported a hemp ban, 53% thought a ban would empower drug cartels, and 55% thought it would increase black market sales. Further, a whopping 72% of republican voters believed veterans should have access to THC as an opioid alternative. 

Although the bill had made it all the way to the Governor’s desk with Senate and House support, Texas Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bill, citing a need to focus on regulating the hemp industry. 

As another example, Florida came close to legalizing recreational cannabis last year with 55.9% of voters approving Amendment 3. Although only 44.1% of Floridians voted no on the amendment, the measure still failed because it required a 60% supermajority approval to pass. Notably, the majority republican voting counties like Bay had voted in favor of legalization. Even at the time, presidential nominee Donald Trump had publicly supported the push to legalize Florida recreational cannabis. 

Although the measure was unsuccessful, voting data and support from republican politicians signal shifting GOP perceptions about cannabis. 

Results from 2023 polling by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR) also point to this trend. The group found that 68% of likely 2024 republican presidential voters nationally supported federal reform while only 29% opposed it. Support among republicans for federal reform had increased by 10% between 2022 and 2023 polling. 

Healthcare Contradictions 

Despite continuously growing support for cannabis reform among republican voters, other policy decisions highlight several disparities. 

Dr. Drew Altman of “Beyond the Data” spoke with republican voters in February. One Arizona republican voter said, “I think Trump knows that people are struggling right now, and I don’t think he’s gonna do, at least right now, cut anything Medicaid because he knows people’s financial problems right now.”

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But the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” is set to cut health spending by about $1 trillion over a decade. NPR reports that this decision will “jeopardize the physical and financial health of tens of millions of Americans.”

Given that a wide majority of republicans in all age groups favor cannabis legalization at least for medical use, it’s clear that policy doesn’t always reflect the wishes of the people. 

Support Does Not Always Lead to Policy 

While there’s no question that GOP support for cannabis reform is strong, there’s little to indicate that support will lead to policy change.

Trump recently appointed Terrance Cole, a former Secretary of Virginia’s Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security, to serve as the new administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Although Cole said that rescheduling cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 in the Controlled Substances Act would be “one of [his] first priorities,” Marijuana Moment reports that proceedings are still on hold, with no future actions on the schedule. 

Though Cole has not been forthcoming about his plans to reschedule, we can look to his past posts to see where he stands on the issue. Over a year ago, he posted a selfie from a visit to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority with a caption stating, “Everybody knows my stance on marijuana after 30 plus years in law enforcement, so don’t even ask!” followed by hashtags like “#justsayno” and “notlegal4distribution.”

In 2024, he also tweeted a link to an article to “learn the dangers of peer pressure and marijuana use.” 

READ: As More Conservatives Embrace Cannabis, Is Red the New Green?

The Future Under GOP Leadership

Nearly a decade ago, Trump said, “In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state. … Marijuana is such a big thing. I think medical should happen — right? Don’t we agree? I think so.”

But as part of his 2021 fiscal year budget plan, he had proposed the end of an existing policy that protected state medical programs from interference by the Justice Department. 

These examples are just two of many highlighting the contradictions around future cannabis policy. As politicians write bills, debate, and vote on cannabis legislation and healthcare reforms, we often fail to see public opinion reflected.  

We know republican voters tend to support cannabis on some level, even if just for medical uses. But we also know that the new DEA administrator has previously taken hard stances against cannabis. 

We will keep a close eye on future policy reform decisions.