Survey: Rescheduling Cannabis Could Give Biden 11% Approval Boost

President Biden stands to boost his favorability by 11% if he were to follow the Federal Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation to reschedule cannabis, according to a Lake Research Partners survey first outlined by Politico.

The survey, which engaged 900 likely voters through a mix of phone (cell and landline) and text-to-online outreach, also found that a 58% majority of American voters support the rescheduling proposal, with the strongest support (65%) coming from young voters aged 18-25. Only senior voters largely opposed the move, but there was still a plurality of support for rescheduling among such voters.

A 74% majority of Democrat voters said they support the federal rescheduling of cannabis with just 7% opposed; 55% of independents, meanwhile, would support the move with 15% opposed. For Republicans, 41% said they support rescheduling while 31% said they opposed the move — the idea is disproportionately popular, however, among young Republican voters and Republican women.

Notably, the pollsters said that “no punches were pulled” in the survey’s articulating of the arguments against rescheduling, including claims that the move from Schedule I to Schedule III is “a half measure” that would bring massive profits to pharmaceutical companies, that it reneges on Biden‘s campaign promises to decriminalize cannabis, and that it could leave “hundreds of thousands of Americans behind bars for marijuana-related offenses.”

Nevertheless, “By the end of the poll, impressions of Biden improve by a net double-digits—an 11-point swing overall, including a double-digit (+11-point) swing among younger voters,” the pollsters said.

The survey coincides with a recent Gallup poll which found a record 70% support among Americans for cannabis legalization.