Gallup Poll Results: Support for Cannabis Legalization is High, but not Highest

On November 5, 2025, Gallup released results from its annual Crime poll regarding adult Americans’ views on drugs in the US, including cannabis (1). Overall, the main assessment of the article was “Americans Much More Positive About Progress on Drugs,” with poll questions covering perceptions on progress in the handling the problem of illegal drugs and support for legalization of cannabis. Political parties of the respondents were also included.

The results were based on interviews conducted by Gallup over the phone from October 1-16, 2025, in a random sample of 1000 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (2).

General Support for Cannabis Legalization

Within the larger Crime poll was a question on cannabis: Do you think the use of marijuana should be legal, or not?

More than half (64%) of the respondents supported legalization of cannabis, the 2025 poll revealed, also noting that this is down from the 68% to 70% levels seen from 2020 and 2024. Support in 2017 and 2019 had been at 64%.

An accompanying chart displayed data from 1969 to 2025 and showed a general upward trend in support, starting with 12% in 1969. Support increased to a peak of 28% in 1977, then started climbing again in 2000 at 31%. From 2001 with 34%, the percentage of respondents saying that yes, cannabis should be legal climbs to 70% in 2023, the highest percentage.

Accounting for Political Party: A Drop in Republican Support

The Gallup poll also broke down the percentages by political party: Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.

Republican support for legalization of cannabis had been climbing in the 2010s (29% in 2010 to 51% in 2019), but showed a drop from 53% in 2024 to 40% in 2025. This 13-point decline was close to the level of 42% seen in in 2016.

Democratic and Independent percentages for cannabis legalization were 85% and 66% for 2025, respectively.

In 2000, the first year the data was presented in the chart:

• Independent support was 39%
• Democratic support was 32%
• Republican support was 22%

The highest percentage of Independent support was 72% in 2022, for Democrats it was 87% in 2023, and for Republicans it was 55% in 2023.

Changing Perceptions on The Issue of Illegal Drugs

Gallup also asked questions regarding perceptions on the problems of illegal drugs, including local area and the US in general, and also broke down the data based in political party.

Overall, Gallup stated that Americans’ perceptions on how the nation has been handling illegal drugs in the US has significantly changed from 2024 to 2025. “After plunging to a record-low 24% in 2023, the percentage of Americans who believe the nation has made progress in dealing with the problem of illegal drugs has jumped to 45%, the highest Gallup has recorded since 2000,” the article states. “At the same time, the proportion saying the nation has lost ground has dropped from a record-high 52% to a record-low 23%.”

The trend was driven by a shift in Republican perception on progress made, the Gallup article explains, with 74% of Republicans responding in 2025 that “much progress” or “some progress” has been made.

Results from a 2024 Gallup Poll: Is Cannabis Harmful?

Last year, Gallup released results from a poll conducted in July 2024 on how respondents viewed the effects of cannabis on consumers in particular and society in general (3). Overall, a slight majority of people viewed cannabis as having a negative effect on both consumers and society, though respondents viewed it as less harmful than seven other substances included in the poll, including alcohol and cigarettes. In 2022, the responses had been evenly divided on the effects of cannabis on society, though 53% had also viewed it as having a positive effect on a consumer.

References

1. Gallup. Americans Much More Positive About Progress on Drugs. November 5, 2025. https://news.gallup.com/poll/697445/americans-positive-progress-drugs.aspx (accessed Nov. 11, 2025).
2. Gallup. GALLUP POLL SOCIAL SERIES: CRIME. https://news.gallup.com/poll/697445/americans-positive-progress-drugs.aspx (accessed Nov. 11, 2025).
3. Gallup. Americans' Views of Marijuana Effects Worsen. August 20, 2024. https://news.gallup.com/poll/648821/americans-views-marijuana-effects-worsen.aspx (accessed Nov. 11, 2025).