Marijuana Moment: 3 In 5 Indiana Residents Support Marijuana Legalization, New Poll Finds As State Lawmakers File Reform Bills

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As Indiana lawmakers again look to reform state marijuana policy in the 2026 session, a new poll finds that nearly three in five residents back legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use.

The annual Hoosier Survey from the Bowen Center at Ball State University (BSU) asked 600 Indianans about a variety of policy issues, from congressional redistricting to marijuana legalization.

It found that 59 percent of residents are in favor of legalizing cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes. An additional 25 percent back only allowing patients to access medical marijuana, raising the total support for that reform to 84 percent.

“In the last year or two, you’ve seen almost exponential growth in support, and then non-traditional support, and by that, I mean business leaders [and] parents—not your traditional college-age kid or high school person,” Andrew Bauman, executive director of The Bowen Center, told Inside Indiana Business.

The survey was released just days after Indiana Rep. Mitch Gore (D) filed legislation that would effectively legalize the possession and cultivation of limited amounts of marijuana. It’s one of several reform options on the table so far in the legislature for this year’s session.

Whether legislators ultimately take up any of the pending measures is yet to be seen, but cannabis reform advocates have generally struggled to make inroads in the conservative legislature over recent years.

That said, the state’s GOP governor said recently that a move by President Donald Trump to federally reschedule marijuana could add “a little bit of fire” to the local push for cannabis legalization in his state. Months later, Trump did sign an executive order directing the attorney general to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Gov. Mike Braun (R) also said last year that he’s “amenable” to medical cannabis legalization.

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Meanwhile, one member of the state’s congressional delegation, Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), expressed opposition to state-level reform despite Trump’s prior comments previewing a rescheduling decision.

“President Trump has been honest about it, that when it comes to marijuana, he said very clearly we shouldn’t smell it on the streets. You have a lot of states that have legalized it. It’s caused even more crime and issues,” Banks said. “I hope Indiana is never a state that legalizes marijuana, by the way.”

The senator acknowledged, however, that there is likely to be “further conversation” about the issue.

Braun, for his part, previously said that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis among patients in the state. Those comments came alongside a separate poll indicating that nearly 9 in 10 Indiana adults (87 percent) support marijuana legalization.

Top Republicans in the legislature, however, have openly opposed marijuana reform.

“It’s no secret that I am not for this,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said in late 2024. “I don’t have people coming to me with really compelling medical cases as to why it’s so beneficial. And any state that I’ve seen pass medical marijuana is essentially passing recreational marijuana.”

House Speaker Todd Huston (R) doubted any medical benefits associated with marijuana, calling the substance “a deterrent to mental health.” He and others suggested that lawmakers supportive of the reform merely want to boost state revenue.

A number of marijuana reform bills were introduced for the Indiana legislature’s 2025 session, including one—from Reps. Jim Lucas (R) and Shane Lindauer (R)—that would have legalized medical marijuana for people with “serious medical conditions as determined by their physician.”

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