Poll: Almost two-thirds of Texas voters support legal recreational marijuana

Nearly two-thirds of Texas voters support legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Sixty-one percent of respondents in the poll said they were in favor of allowing the legal possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Almost every demographic in the poll backed recreational marijuana, with the exception of Republicans and voters over the age of 65.

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“Texans are not much different than voters in other parts of the country. They support almost 2-to-1 the idea of allowing small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” Peter Brown, the assistant director of the poll, said in a statement.

Legalizing marijuana has grown in popularity across the country. Vermont passed a recreational marijuana law earlier this year, and Maine lawmakers believe they have the votes to override a veto by Gov. Paul LePage (R-Maine) on a legal marijuana bill.

However, the Trump administration has threatened to crack down on marijuana, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinding an Obama-era policy that directed U.S. attorneys in states where marijuana has been legalized to deprioritize the prosecution of marijuana-related cases. Under pressure from lawmakers in states that have legalized marijuana, Trump recently promised Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) that despite the move he will not direct the Justice Department to pursue marijuana cases.

Quinnipiac conducted phone interviews with 1,029 registered voters in Texas from April 12-17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.