Poll: Half of Pennsylvanians Support Cannabis Legalization

According to Muhlenberg College Public Health Program’s 2023 Pennsylvania Health Survey, support for cannabis legalization in the state fell from 56% last year to 50% this year – marking the first time in a decade the survey has found a decrease in support for the reforms.

The survey found 38% opposed cannabis legalization with 18% neither in favor nor opposed, and 1% unsure.

In 2013, the poll found 33% in favor and 40% opposed to broad cannabis legalization in the Keystone state, and in 2021, the survey found 58% of respondents backed the reforms – the highest level recorded for the Health Survey.

The poll notes that the drop in support for cannabis legalization “may simply be the product of a sampling error.”

The poll also found a majority of respondents were concerned with the rise in cannabis use among young adults (18-22 years old) – with 22% of respondents saying they were “very concerned,” and 33% “somewhat concerned.” Twenty-seven percent of those polled said they were “not too concerned,” and 18% said they were “not at all concerned.”

Earlier this month, Democratic State Sen. Sharif Street and Republican State Sen. Dan Laughlin introduced a measure to legalize cannabis in the state. That measure is currently in the Senate Law and Justice Committee.