Public UK Cannabis Legalization Support Outpaces MP Support

According to a recent poll conducted by YouGov UK, the level of support for cannabis legalization among adults in the United Kingdom is greater than the level of support for adult-use legalization among lawmakers.

“The results show that 50% of MPs are opposed to cannabis legalisation when asked in a support/oppose format, compared to 39% who would be in support.” YouGov UK stated about their poll’s results. “The large majority of MPs do, however, believe that doctors should be allowed to prescribe cannabis for medical use (83%). Only 7% are opposed.”

“On the binary question of legalising cannabis, the British public are split, with 45% in favour and 42% opposed, making the public slightly more pro-legalisation than MPs.” YouGov UK also stated about the poll results.

MPs in the United Kingdom voted on a cannabis legalization measure back in December 2018, with the lawmakers defeating the legalization proposal by a vote of 66 ‘no’ votes to 52 ‘yes’ votes. Below is a graphical breakdown of that vote by party via the UK Parliament’s website:

Currently, cannabis is legal for adult use at a national level in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and South Africa. Additionally, recreational commerce pilot trails are operating in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and two dozen states in the U.S. have adopted adult-use cannabis legalization measures.