Poll: Supermajority of Marylanders Support Legalization

A Goucher College poll released on Tuesday found a full two-thirds of Maryland residents support cannabis legalization in the state, the highest point since the college started measuring attitudes about legalization in 2013.

The poll found support for the reforms among 77% of Democrats (18% opposed), 50% of Republicans (47% opposed), and 60% of independents (34% opposed).

In 2019, the poll found 57% of Marylanders supported legalization with 37% opposed. The poll comes as the legislature considers an adult-use legalization bill.

Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College, noted that while the college poll has “consistently found that a majority of Marylanders support the legalization,” it is “the first time Republican support has reached 50 percent.”

“This most recent (legalization) effort comes on the heels of four states voting to legalize recreational cannabis by ballot measure this past November and, most recently, New Jersey and Virginia passing adult-use marijuana legalization laws.” – Kromer in a press release

The survey was conducted February 23-28, 2021, and included 725 Maryland adults.

Maryland legalized medical cannabis in 2016 and the industry-derived tax revenues reached about $21.7 million until June 2018. From January 2018 to June 2018, medical cannabis sales in the state topped $34.9 million and reached $106 million over the same period the following year, representing a growth rate of more than 200 percent.