As Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to expand the state’s current marijuana law by legalizing and regulating recreational sales, a new poll shows that they have the support of a majority of registered voters.
Sixty percent of respondents in the survey released on Wednesday by The Wason Center at Christopher Newport University support allowing retail adult-use cannabis sales.
That includes majorities of Democrats (74 percent) and independents (59 percent), though only 38 percent of Republicans are on board.
Voters between the ages of 18 and 44 are much more likely (74 percent) to back legalizing recreational cannabis sales than are those above 45 years old (48 percent), according to the poll.
The survey results come as committees in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate have recently approved bills to legalize and regulate the adult-use cannabis market.
While there are some differences between the chambers’ bills, the overall proposals largely align with recommendations released last month by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market.
Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn
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