Marijuana reform advocates are criticizing a new poll from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) that suggests most Americans oppose marijuana rescheduling. Advocates argue the poll's questions are misleading, posing hypotheticals about potential consequences like increased advertising to children and benefits for cartels. Pro-legalization groups assert that such claims are misinformation, as current regulations already prohibit advertising to children and cartels do not pay taxes. Despite SAM's poll, other recent surveys consistently show growing bipartisan support for cannabis legalization and reform, including rescheduling.

Advocates Criticize Prohibitionist Group’s “Misleading” Rescheduling Poll

Sep 25, 2025

Source:

Kyle Jaeger

Marijuana Moment

Pro-cannabis advocates are calling out a recent poll from the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), labeling it as a collection of "misleading" and "fear-based" hypotheticals. While SAM claims their data shows a majority of Americans oppose federal rescheduling, critics argue the survey used leading questions to manipulate results—specifically suggesting that reform would incentivize advertising to children or provide tax breaks to international cartels. In reality, multiple independent surveys continue to show broad, bipartisan support for ending federal prohibition.

For everyday tokers, this matters because it highlights the ongoing battle against misinformation that still influences federal policy. While rescheduling to Schedule III wouldn't end criminalization, it would provide legitimate cannabis businesses with much-needed tax relief and expand research opportunities. This pushback from groups like MPP and NORML is crucial for ensuring that the public and lawmakers make decisions based on facts rather than prohibitionist scare tactics, ultimately keeping the momentum moving toward a fairer, more accessible legal market for everyone.