Politics
Majority Of Americans Say Marijuana Isn’t ‘Dangerous’ As Trump Decides On Rescheduling, New Poll Shows
A new poll shows that a majority of Americans don’t consider marijuana dangerous, though most do think consuming cannabis increases the likelihood that people will transition to using more dangerous drugs.
The survey from Rasmussen Reports, widely viewed as a conservative polling firm, asked several questions dealing with cannabis and other drug-related topics as President Donald Trump considers a marijuana rescheduling proposal.
One top-line finding is that 53 percent of respondents said that cannabis use is either “not at all dangerous” or “not very dangerous,” while 42 percent said it was either “somewhat dangerous” or “very dangerous.”
Republicans were more likely to say marijuana was dangerous (54 percent total) compared to Democrats (35 percent total).
The survey—which involved interviews with 1,305 American adults from September 21-23—also inquired about public opinion on the gateway drug theory, asking: “How likely is it that marijuana use leads to the use of more dangerous drugs?”
Despite the majority perception that marijuana isn’t dangerous—and the fact that polls consistently show majority (and increasingly bipartisan) support for legalizing cannabis, 51 percent of respondents said it was “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that marijuana could lead to more dangerous drug use. Another 42 percent said that it was “not very likely” or “not at all likely.”
Rasmussen also examined opinions around the broader “problem of drug abuse” in the U.S., asking people to rate their sense of the current status of the issue.
Just 5 percent said the situation is getting “better,” 36 percent said it’s “worse” and 39 percent said it’s “about the same.”
The poll, which has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points, is one of the latest temperature checks on American sentiment toward drug policy as Trump weighs a proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
And while a leading prohibitionist group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), recently claimed a poll they commissioned demonstrated majority opposition to rescheduling, a policy change that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail, the result flies in the face of multiple other national surveys showing support for reform that goes beyond rescheduling.
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Another recent survey from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), which was conducted by the firm Forbes Tate Partners, showed that seven in 10 American voters want to see the end of federal marijuana prohibition—and nearly half say they’d view the Trump administration more favorably if it took action on the issue.
A poll released in June that Marijuana Moment partnered on with the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD showed that a majority of marijuana consumers disapprove of the Trump administration’s actions on cannabis policy to date, but there’s also a significant willingness among users to shift their position if the federal government opts to reschedule or legalize marijuana.
Earlier this year, meanwhile, a firm associated with Trump—Fabrizio, Lee & Associates—also polled Americans on a series of broader marijuana policy issues. Notably, it found that a majority of Republicans back cannabis rescheduling—and, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
