Nearly eight in ten cannabis consumers say that a candidate’s views on marijuana policy will influence their decision whether to vote for them in November, according to survey data compiled by NuggMD at the request of NORML.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents say that their decision will be “significantly” or “somewhat” influenced by where candidates stand on marijuana policy.
Women (81 percent) and Democrats (83 percent) are most likely to say that a candidate’s marijuana views will influence their decision. Seventy-three percent of Republicans and 76 percent of men express similar views.
“Reforming America’s failed marijuana prohibition laws enjoys bipartisan support among voters,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Candidates and elected officials who ignore this reality do so at their own political peril.”
The survey involved interviews with 654 cannabis consumers who live in states with legal markets. It possesses a +/-3.83 percentage point margin of error.
Voters in Idaho and Massachusetts will have the opportunity to decide on a pair of statewide marijuana-related ballot initiatives this November.
In Massachusetts, Question 8 seeks to repeal voter-initiated laws permitting adults to home-cultivate marijuana and regulating the adult-use retail cannabis market. Polling shows that more than two-thirds of voters oppose the repeal measure, which has been almost entirely financed by an out-of-state prohibitionist group. In recent weeks, over 50 state and federal politicians have spoken out publicly against the initiative, including US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Gov. Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Massachusetts’ voters approved legalization in 2016.
In Idaho, state lawmakers have placed a measure on the ballot (HJR 4) that seeks to amend the state constitution so that voters no longer have any say in determining Idaho’s drug policies. NORML condemned the measure in a recent op-ed, stating: “House Joint Resolution 4 isn’t marijuana, it’s anti-democracy. … Idaho lawmakers know that they can no longer make a rational case for the state’s prohibitive and punitive marijuana policies – policies that are out-of-step not only with most other states, but also with most Idahoans. That is why they are asking Idahoans to relinquish one of the most fundamental powers they have in a free society: their power to vote. Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these undemocratic tactics ought to cause Idahoans – and, quite frankly, all voters – deep concern.”
In Texas, voters in Houston will decide in November on a municipal ballot measure, The Houston Freedom Act. If approved by voters, it instructs the Houston Police Department to “make the enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest possible enforcement priority.”
Voters in several other Texas cities – including Austin, Dallas, and San Marcos – approved similar local measures in recent years. However, in 2025, a Texas appellate court issued a pair of rulings halting the implementation of several of those initiatives. Following those rulings, several localities, including Dallas and Denton, declined to implement the laws.
Additional public opinion polling data is available from NORML. 2026 election information is available from NORML’s Election Central.