Republican support for marijuana legalization edges up again in poll

A slim majority of Republicans support legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the United States, according to a new poll.

Conservatives who are still fighting the culture wars of the 1960s — like Attorney General Jeff Sessions — and evangelical Christians oppose legalization on moral grounds. Liberals generally support it as a civil-liberties issue and because criminal penalties for possession fall disproportionately on minorities. But the issue also crosses some ideological lines: libertarian conservatives typically support legalization and have opposed the war on drugs even when it enjoyed bipartisan support.

The latest figures for Republicans could signal that last year’s results weren’t a fluke and that the party’s voters are gradually moving toward liberalization — even if their leadership is not.

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The Republican Party’s 2016 platform makes only one reference to marijuana, deploring the trend toward legalization. “The progress made over the last three decades against drug abuse is eroding, whether for cultural reasons or for lack of national leadership. In many jurisdictions, marijuana is virtually legalized despite its illegality under federal law,” the platform reads.

President Trump has given conflicting statements of his views on the subject. Trump said on the campaign trail that states should have the right to manage their own marijuana policies for medicinal and recreation use. Then he reversed course after entering office, criticized legalization and suggesting it should be stopped.

But in his latest flip-flop, Trump promised earlier this year to support legislation that would protect the burgeoning marijuana industry.