This trend is significant because, as Gallup researchers highlighted, the drop comes after Republican support for legalization climbed through the 2010s, stalled at around 50%, and then retreated sharply this year.

One reason for the drop in Republican support for cannabis legalization may be that Americans, particularly Republicans, are feeling more optimistic about the country’s progress on illegal drugs. As a result, some Republicans have grown less enthusiastic about legalizing cannabis.

However, there may also be other reasons for the drop in Republican support for cannabis legalization. One of them could be that cannabis rescheduling, initiated by former President Joe Biden, has stalled.

Before his election, Trump expressed support for rescheduling, but since his inauguration, he hasn’t been very vocal on the issue.

Trump’s only significant comment on the issue came in August, when he said that the White House is “looking at that” and will make a decision in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, the debate over intoxicating hemp products, which emerged from a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized industrial hemp, is heating up. Many businesses have used that loophole to extract THC from hemp-derived CBD, creating products with psychoactive effects similar to cannabis. Now, Congress is moving to shut that down.

On October 24, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to congressional committee chairs, signed by 39 state and U.S. territory attorneys general, urging swift legislative action to close the loophole. The letter warns about the rapid spread of intoxicating, hemp-derived THC products across the country and points to the potential public health and safety risks they pose, especially for children.

Fighting Drug Trafficking

The Gallup survey also asked about perceptions of how the Trump administration is handling the issue of illegal drugs.

When asked how much progress the nation has made over the past year or two in dealing with the problem of illegal drugs, 45% of respondents said the U.S. has made “much” or “some” progress, while 23% said the country has “lost some” or “lost much” ground. Among Republicans, 74% said they see significant progress, compared to just 33% of Democrats. Overall, 71% of Americans still view illegal drugs as a serious or very serious problem.

“The White House has used the issue as justification for actions in various international dealings since Trump’s inauguration — from tariffs to military strikes to foreign aid — and this seems to be resonating with the president’s base, even though the impact of these actions on drug imports, sales and addiction in the U.S. is unclear so far,” Gallup researchers wrote.

Since taking office, Trump has stepped up U.S. military efforts against drug trafficking, especially vessels near Venezuela. He has ordered strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific that his administration says were carrying narcotics.

The White House says these missions are part of an armed conflict with cartels. At the same time, the administration has not publicly released concrete proof that the targeted boats were definitely transporting drugs, and critics are raising serious questions about whether it is lawful to use lethal military force against suspected traffickers in international waters.