Half of Pennsylvania residents support legalizing adult-use cannabis, according to a recent poll.
While half of Pennsylvanians support legalizing cannabis, 31% oppose the measure, 18% are neither in favor or opposed, and 1% are unsure, according to the Muhlenberg College Public Health Program’s 2023 Pennsylvania Health Survey.
The 50% approval for legalizing cannabis marks a 6% drop from last year’s poll, which found 56% of Pennsylvanian voters supported adult-use cannabis legalization. In contrast, the percentage of Pennsylvania voters who disapprove of cannabis legalization increased six points from 25% to 31% year-over-year.
Support for cannabis legalization amongst Pennsylvanian voters previously increased each year the Pennsylvania Health Survey was conducted, beginning in 2013. That year, 33% of voters supported adult-use cannabis legalization. That figure rose to 38% in 2014, 39% in 2016, 45% in 2017, 49% in 2018, 51% in 2019, 56% in 2020, 58% in 2021, and 56% in 2022 before decreasing to 50% in this year’s poll.
“The small shift in opinion on this matter may simply be the product of sampling error,” study’s authors said in their report.
The survey also polled respondents on their level of concern over increased cannabis consumption amongst 18-22 year olds. The poll found 33% of respondents were somewhat concerned, 27% were not too concerned, 22% said they were very concerned, and 18% said they were not at all concerned.
The study surveyed 417 adults in Pennsylvania between March 21 and April 6. The data, with a randomly selected sample of respondents, found a margin of error for the surveys is +/- 6% at a 95% confidence level.
In addition to cannabis legalization, the Pennsylvania Health Survey polled respondents on a range of health topics, including the state’s quality of health care, its response to the opioid crisis, climate change, mental health, COVID-19, and more.
