Washington, DC: Over six in ten military veterans say that marijuana should be legal for adults and nearly 90 percent support legalizing it for medical purposes, according to new polling data provided by the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Four hundred and seventy veterans (mean age: 50) responded to the survey. Sixty-one percent said that “cannabis should be legal for recreational purposes.” Eighty-seven percent agreed that it “should be legal for medical purposes.”
Recent polls of US adults show similar levels of public support for legalization.
Nearly 40 percent of respondents acknowledged having first-hand experience with medical cannabis. Separate survey data published in 2025 reported that 40 percent of veterans suffering from chronic pain consume cannabis products to mitigate their symptoms. The results of an observational study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence report that cannabis use by veterans with post-traumatic stress is linked to reduced stress and better same-night sleep quality.
Seventy-two percent of respondents expressed interest in using medical cannabis if it were legally available for them to do so. Historically, VA doctors have been unable to authorize their patients to access state-legal medical cannabis products.
Full survey results and analysis of the 2026 survey are available from IAVA. Further information on cannabis use among veterans is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana and Veterans Issues.’