About two-thirds of Americans support legal marijuana: Gallup’s latest reading, from October 2025, found 64% saying marijuana use should be legal, and Pew Research Center’s January 2026 survey found 55% favor legalization for both medical and recreational use, with another 33% backing medical use only. Support has risen from 12% when Gallup first asked in 1969, peaked at 70% in 2023, and dipped in 2025 as Republican support fell.
This page began as a short 2012 item on a Washington Post-ABC News poll taken days after Washington and Colorado voters legalized cannabis. Back then the country was split almost evenly. We have turned it into a running tracker of the long-term polling, using the two most cited sources: Gallup’s annual question, asked the same way since 1969, and Pew Research Center’s larger panel surveys. We update it when new results come out.
Support for Legal Marijuana by Year (Gallup)
Gallup asks: “Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal, or not?”
| Year | Say it should be legal | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 12% | First time Gallup asked |
| Late 1970s | 28% | Decriminalization wave in several states |
| 2000 | 31% | Little change through the 1980s and 1990s |
| 2010 | 46% | California’s Prop 19 fails |
| 2011 | 50% | First time at half |
| 2012 | 48% | Washington and Colorado legalize in November |
| 2013 | 58% | First clear majority |
| 2019 | 64% to 66% | Gallup lists two readings that year |
| 2020 to 2022 | 68% | Plateau near the high |
| 2023 | 70% | Record high; Republicans at 55% |
| 2024 | 68% | Little changed |
| 2025 | 64% | Republican support drops to about 40% |
Sources: Gallup 2013, Gallup 2023, Gallup 2025 and the Gallup trend figures compiled by Pew Research Center in May 2026. Gallup normally releases its annual reading in November, so a 2026 figure was not yet out when this page was last updated in October 2026.
What the Latest Polls Show
Gallup, October 2025: 64%
Gallup’s most recent survey, conducted October 1 to 16, 2025, among 1,000 adults by phone (margin of error plus or minus 4 points), found 64% saying marijuana should be legal, the lowest level since 2019. Democrats were at 85% and independents at 66%. Republican support fell 13 points in a year, to the lowest level in a decade, after hovering around 50% for several years. Gallup’s write-up describes the drop as concentrated among Republicans; NORML’s summary puts Republican support at 40%.
Pew Research Center, January 2026: 88% favor some form of legal access
Pew asks a three-way question, which captures people who support medical cannabis but not recreational sales. In a January 20 to 26, 2026 survey of 8,512 adults, Pew found:
- 55% say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use
- 33% say it should be legal for medical use only
- 11% say it should not be legal at all
Pew notes these views have been fairly steady since 2019. In a March 2024 survey, the share backing both uses was 57%.
Who Supports Legalization: Age, Party and Race
| Group (Pew, January 2026) | Legal for medical and recreational use |
|---|---|
| Ages 18 to 29 | 63% |
| Ages 30 to 49 | 60% |
| Ages 50 to 64 | 51% |
| Ages 65 to 74 | 50% |
| Ages 75 and older | 34% |
| Democrats and leaners | 67% |
| Republicans and leaners | 44% |
| Liberal Democrats | 80% |
| Conservative Republicans | 38% |
| Black adults | 61% |
| White adults | 58% |
| Hispanic adults | 45% |
| Asian adults | 34% |
The age gap is the most durable pattern in the data. In Gallup’s 2023 survey, 79% of adults 18 to 34 favored legalization, and even the oldest group was at 64%. The partisan gap has widened since 2024: Democrats have stayed high while Republican support has slipped, in both Gallup’s and Pew’s numbers.
Why Support Rose, and Why It Dipped
Support was flat for two decades after the late 1970s, then climbed steadily from 2000. The rise tracked the spread of medical cannabis laws, beginning with California‘s Proposition 215 in 1996, and generational replacement, as older Americans who grew up with the drug war were succeeded by younger adults who mostly favor legalization. Gallup’s 2013 jump of 10 points came the year after Washington’s Initiative 502 and Colorado’s Amendment 64 passed; our story on the 2012 Washington and Colorado votes covers that turning point.
The 2025 dip was driven almost entirely by Republicans. Gallup reported the drop without pinning it to a single cause, and no published poll has yet tested why Republican views shifted, so one more year of data will show whether 2025 was a blip or a turn. For the arguments each side makes, see our guide to the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana.
Polls vs. the Law in 2026
Public opinion has moved faster than federal law. As of May 2026, 24 states and Washington, D.C., allowed adult-use cannabis, another 16 states allowed medical use only, 8 more had limited CBD or low-THC programs, and Idaho and Kansas allowed neither, according to NCSL figures cited by Pew. Pew estimates that 53% of Americans live where recreational marijuana is legal, and its 2024 analysis counted nearly 15,000 dispensaries, with 79% of Americans having at least one in their county.
At the federal level, an April 2026 order moved FDA-approved products and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, while adult-use cannabis stays in Schedule I. Our rescheduling explainer and federal law guide track where that stands. For state rules, start with Washington marijuana laws.
How Many Americans Use Marijuana?
Support and use are different things. Gallup’s July 2026 survey found 17% of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana, tying the record and up from 7% in 2013, the first year Gallup asked the question that way. Use was highest among adults 30 to 49 (25%) and 18 to 29 (23%), versus 10% of those 50 to 64 and 5% of those 65 and older, per Gallup. In the same poll, 11% said they smoke cigarettes. Federal survey data from 2024 show 51% of adults have used marijuana at some point, 23% in the past year and 16% in the past month, as summarized by Pew.
What Americans Think Legalization Does
In a 2024 Pew survey, 52% said recreational legalization is good for local economies and 17% said bad. On criminal justice, 42% said it makes the system fairer and 18% less fair. Opinion was more divided on safety: 21% said legalization makes communities safer and 34% less safe. On other drug use, 27% said it decreases use and 29% said it increases it.
How to Read Marijuana Polls
- Question wording matters. Gallup’s yes-or-no question yields a single legalization number. Pew’s three options show that many people who say “no” to full legalization still back medical use.
- Method matters. Gallup uses phone interviews of about 1,000 adults; Pew uses a large online panel of more than 8,000. Small differences between them are not meaningful.
- Look at the trend, not one poll. A margin of error of plus or minus 4 points means a one-year move of 2 or 3 points may be noise. The 2025 Republican drop of 13 points is larger than that.
Marijuana Legalization Polls FAQ
What percentage of Americans support legalizing marijuana?
Gallup’s October 2025 poll found 64% support. Pew’s January 2026 survey found 55% back legal medical and recreational use and 33% back medical use only.
When did a majority of Americans first support legal marijuana?
Gallup recorded 50% in 2011 and its first clear majority, 58%, in 2013, the year after Washington and Colorado legalized.
What was the highest support ever recorded?
Gallup’s record is 70%, measured in October 2023.
Do Republicans support legal marijuana?
Less than before. Gallup measured 55% Republican support in 2023 and about 40% in 2025; Pew found 44% of Republicans back full legalization in January 2026.
Which age group supports legalization most?
Younger adults. Pew found 63% of adults under 30 back full legalization, compared with 34% of those 75 and older.
What did the 2012 Washington Post-ABC News poll find?
It was taken November 7 to 11, 2012, days after Washington and Colorado voted to legalize, when national opinion was close to evenly split. Gallup measured 48% support that year.
For adults 21+ in legal states. General information, not medical advice.