A new poll from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates—the firm that was chief pollster for President Donald Trump's campaigns—finds 75 percent of Texas registered voters support legalizing marijuana for medical use, yet only 11 percent have heard of the state's existing Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP).
Support spans party lines: 85 percent of Democrats, 81 percent of independents, and 63 percent of Republicans favor legalization. "Medical marijuana is very popular with Texas voters—not only do 3-in-4 voters support its use but majorities of each partisan group also support legalized medical marijuana," the firm wrote in its polling memo.
When briefed on TCUP, three in five respondents expressed concern that delays and obstacles have slowed the program's expansion and limited patient access. Separately, 57 percent agreed state leaders have moved too slowly, with majorities of Democrats and independents and a plurality of Republicans in agreement.
Texas officials recently conditionally approved new medical marijuana business licenses under a law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) that expands qualifying conditions to include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Crohn's disease, other inflammatory bowel diseases, and end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care. After learning of the expansion, 62 percent said they favor the program, with majority support across party lines.
Voters said they are more likely to support lawmakers who backed TCUP expansion and less favorable toward officials who stall implementation. The polling memo stated: "Voters are more likely to support their legislator who supported expanding TCUP and are less likely to favor legislative leaders or the Governor's agencies if they slow roll the implementation of TCUP."
The survey covered 1,000 registered voters on April 1–2 with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points.
Separately, a ban on THCA smokable hemp flowers that took effect last month was later temporarily paused by a judge amid an industry legal challenge. Last month, Texas voters approved a marijuana legalization question on the Democratic primary ballot. A February poll found 40 percent of voters disapprove of officials' handling of marijuana and THC policy, versus 29 percent who approve and 31 percent with no opinion; a separate earlier poll found a plurality want marijuana laws made "less strict." The lieutenant governor and House speaker also announced the state will proceed with its own ibogaine research program after no drug companies submitted proposals meeting requirements for state-funded clinical trials.
