Vast majority of Hoosiers support some cannabis legalization, lawmakers still reticent
A vast majority of Indiana residents said they’re ready for legal cannabis in some form. That’s from the Indiana Public Broadcasting-Ball State Hoosier Survey.
But state Republican lawmakers still seem reluctant to move forward on the issue.
More than 50 percent of the 600 people in the survey said cannabis use should be legal for adults. Another 30 percent said it should be legal, but only for medicinal use.
Bowen Centers For Public Affairs Director Chad Kinsella said there’s a clear trend on this issue.
“Thinking back to past Hoosier Surveys we’ve done, that number has just been creeping up,” Kinsella said. “So, I think it’s just kind of the floodgates are opening at this point.”
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Cannabis legalization has gotten almost nowhere at the Statehouse, though Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said the door is open slightly going into 2023.
“I think you’ll see us talk about it this legislative session,” Bray said. “What, exactly, we’ll end up doing I’m not prepared to say just yet.”
Bray said lawmakers might begin to set up some regulatory infrastructure, in case the drug is legalized at the federal level.
The Hoosier Survey polled 600 people in late October and early November. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. The interviews were conducted by telephone (42 by landline and 257 by cell phone) and online.
Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.