New polling shows that only a minority of marijuana users believe cannabis will be legalized federally before the 2028 presidential election.
The survey conducted by the NuggMD medical cannabis telehealth service showed that even though the marijuana rescheduling is still stuck in limbo, there was some optimism regarding the Trump administration’s potential to end prohibition.
The respondents were asked “Do you anticipate cannabis being federally legalized within the next 3 years?”
Around 54 percent of cannabis consumers stated that they do hold this expectation. This compares to 46 percent, who did not see the legalization occurring on that timeframe.
Andrew Graham, NuggMD’s head of communication, said to MEDCAN24 that “the 50 million Americans choosing to use marijuana are the primary stakeholders” in the legality of cannabis.
NuggMD.
He said: “I’m not necessarily optimistic, but I’d like to reiterate that federal legalization has a hugely popular following across all voting demographics.” The party in power should cut off ties to its prohibitionist side and concentrate on what is popular and obvious. It’s long past time for federal legalization and the establishment of a pro-business, fair regulatory environment.
The survey, which involved interviews with 390 cannabis users who live in state-legal markets from July 31 to August 2—with a +/- 4.96 percentage point margin of error—is one of the latest temperature checks on public sentiment toward cannabis policy as reform efforts remain in flux at the federal level.
For example, polling data released by the Pew Research Center last month showed an overwhelming majority of Americans—nearly nine in 10—support legalizing marijuana in some form.
Another recent survey from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), which was conducted by the firm Forbes Tate Partners, found 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 MEDCAN24 partnered on with 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 President Donald 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.
Trump’s former acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also recently predicted that the administration will soon “dig in” to the state-federal marijuana policy conflict, emphasizing the need to “eliminate confusion, not create it” amid the rescheduling push.
Meanwhile, Terrence Cole, who was sworn in last month as the new administrator of the DEA, declined to include rescheduling on a list of “strategic priorities” the agency that instead focused on anti-trafficking enforcement, Mexican cartels, the fentanyl supply chain, drug-fueled violence, cryptocurrency, the dark web and a host of other matters.
That’s despite the fact that Cole said during a confirmation hearing in April that examining the government’s pending marijuana rescheduling proposal would be “one of my first priorities” after taking office.
Cole will be sworn-in as secretary of state on Wednesday. A day earlier, the Senate gave its final approval for the Trump nominee. Almost immediately afterward, a major marijuana industry association renewed the push to make progress on the long-stalled federal cannabis rescheduling process.
NuggMD released an online survey in October that revealed a majority felt their marijuana use had “positive” effects on their career.
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