Most Americans Back Legalizing Marijuana...

As President Donald Trump prepares to announce a decision on marijuana
rescheduling, a new poll from a religious conservative research firm again
shows that a majority of Americans are ready for legalizing cannabis
altogether. Trump voters, however, are largely not on board with the
change—with the exception of younger ones.

The survey—conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Ethics and Public Policy
Center (EPPC)—was detailed in a post published by one of the organization’s
lead researchers on his Family Matters blog last week. Overall, it found
that 57 percent of respondents either “somewhat” or “strongly” support
cannabis legalization.

A demographic breakdown of age and political affiliation showed some
familiar divides on the issue, with a majority of people aged 46 and older
who voted for Trump in the last election (53 percent) oppose legalization.
However, a 49 percent plurality of Trump voters 18-45 said they do back the
reform.

Among people who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last
election, however, there was a somewhat unusual finding: More people in the
older cohort (87 percent) said they support legalization than those in the
younger cohort (71 percent).

A majority of Republicans oppose marijuana legalization, with even young
GOP voters are pretty split, and those with kids really don't like it.
Rescheduling pot will make young men worse off — and it won't save the GOP
in next year's midterms, either: https://t.co/gQR3o3S0rF
https://t.co/scEFw0PdQc pic.twitter.com/ubWbgQr7X0

— Patrick T. Brown (@PTBwrites) December 12, 2025

Asked about the net effect of legalization on society, 68 percent of
younger Harris voters said it leads to “more social benefits than costs,”
and an even larger majority (82 percent) of older Harris voters said the
same.

By contrast, a majority of both younger and older Trump voters (59 percent
and 67 percent, respectively) said legalization is associated with “more
social costs than benefits.”

Adults 18-45 without children were more supportive of ending prohibition at
60 percent, compared to 52 percent who are parents, the poll found.

“This offers a sketch for what a new political coalition interested in
curbing the excesses of our rapid entry into a world of widespread medical
marijuana might look like,” EPPC’s Patrick Brown said, adding that if the
Trump administration does move to reschedule marijuana, “conservatives and
well-meaning liberals shouldn’t accept a new reality of capitalism-fueled
marijuana availability without a fight.”

“The concerns about what widespread weed could mean for children’s
health—and young adults’ long-term outcomes—won’t have gone away,
regardless of the profit motives involved,” he said.

While this poll does show a partisan split on the issue with most
Republicans against legalization, other independent surveys over recent
years have signaled that ending prohibition is an increasingly bipartisan
issue. That said, support among GOP voters dipped somewhat over the last
year, according to a recent Gallup poll.

A separate research firm associated with Trump survey of registered voters
did recently show that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis
reforms, including rescheduling, states’ rights to legalize and marijuana
industry access to banking services and stock exchanges.

Sources familiar with the administration’s potentially imminent decision on
marijuana reform haven’t been suggesting that the president intends to
*legalize* marijuana, however. The proposal to move cannabis from Schedule
I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would mean it’d
still be federally prohibited. But marijuana businesses could then start
taking federal tax deductions, and it could help reduce certain research
barriers associated with Schedule I drugs.

There was also reporting this week indicating that the executive order on
rescheduling that the president is expected to issue may also contain
additional components touching on cannabis business banking access and
Medicare coverage for CBD.

On Monday, Trump said he is “very strongly” considering rescheduling
cannabis in part to ease restrictions on research into its effects.

Opponents of the policy change have stepped up their efforts to dissuade
the administration from moving forward, arguing that a reclassification to
Schedule III will further normalize marijuana use even though it would not
federally legalize the plant. Rescheduling would, however, let marijuana
businesses take federal tax deductions while reducing certain research
barriers associated with Schedule I drugs.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), one of the more vocal prohibitionists in Congress,
said this week that Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally
reschedule marijuana via executive order. But while lawmakers could
overrule any administrative move to enact the reform, it would be a “heavy
lift” in the Republican-controlled Congress, he acknowledged.

Meanwhile, multiple top congressional Democrats are making the case that
the modest reform would not go far enough—including Sen. Ron Wyden (R-OR)
who said the move is only an attempt by the president to “gaslight” voters
into thinking he legalized cannabis to boost his “pathetic” approval
ratings.

A major drug testing industry organization separately said it’s “sounding
the alarm” amid the reports Trump may soon finalize the rescheduling
proposal, arguing that the policy change would “have catastrophic
consequences for the safety of the United States workforce and
transportation sectors.”


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or what it’s worth, a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last
week that no actions have been finalized so far.

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have been weighing in on the potential
rescheduling decision over the past week—with Democrats like Rep. Alex
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling the reform a “no-brainer” and others like Rep.
Andy Harris (R-MD) pushing back against the proposal.

The Washington Post reported last week that Trump was planning to issue an
executive order directing federal agencies to move ahead with cannabis
rescheduling.

The outlet also said the president met earlier this week in the Oval Office
with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human Services Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Administrator Mehmet Oz. During that meeting, Trump phoned Johnson, the
House speaker, who expressed his opposition to rescheduling cannabis,

If the administration does ultimately enact rescheduling, it would mark one
of the most significant developments in federal marijuana policy since its
prohibition a half a century ago, with a Schedule III reclassification
recognizing that marijuana has medical value and a lower abuse potential
compared to other Schedule I drugs like heroin.

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

The post Most Americans Back Legalizing Marijuana, But Trump Voters Not On
Board, Conservative Group’s Poll Shows Amid Rescheduling Rumors appeared
first on Marijuana Moment.