Just under half of British adults support legalising cannabis, according to a new YouGov poll conducted among 2,053 people across Great Britain between 31 March and 1 April 2026.
When asked a straight yes-or-no question, 47% said they were in favour of legalisation, 43% were opposed and 11% were undecided. A follow-up question offering three options produced a more nuanced picture: 35% wanted cannabis to remain a criminal offence, 33% backed full legalisation and 23% supported decriminalisation.
Usage and appetite for reform
More than a third of respondents (37%) said they had used cannabis at some point, with adults aged 25–49 reporting the highest lifetime use at 47%. YouGov estimates that around 15% of the public would consider using cannabis in future under the right legal framework.
Despite that, a clear majority (57%) still consider regular cannabis use harmful, and opinion on policing is evenly divided — roughly a quarter each say enforcement is too tough, about right, or not tough enough.
Scepticism about prohibition
Perhaps the most striking finding is that 60% of Britons believe making a drug illegal is ineffective at preventing use — a view shared even by 48% of those who favour keeping cannabis criminalised.
Taken together, 56% of respondents support some change to the current law, whether through decriminalisation or full legalisation. Political affiliation shapes attitudes sharply: Conservative voters lean heavily towards criminalisation (54%), while Green Party supporters are the strongest backers of legalisation at 54%.
The poll was published as campaigner Charlotte Caldwell launched TRACD, a new group calling for regulated recreational pilots across the UK. Caldwell, whose advocacy helped secure the 2018 legalisation of medical cannabis, argues controlled reform is the credible alternative to what she describes as a broken policy framework.
Reporting based on YouGov survey data published in April 2026.
