As Indiana lawmakers look to reform the state’s marijuana policy in the 2026 session, a new poll finds that nearly three in five residents support legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use.
Ball State University’s (BSU) Bowen Center’s annual Hoosier Poll asked 600 Native Americans about policy issues ranging from congressional redistricting to marijuana legalization.
It found that 59 percent of residents are in favor of legalizing cannabis, both for purposes and recreational purposes. An additional 25 percent return allowing patients to access medical marijuana, bringing 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 employers (and) parents, not your typical college-age kid or high school person,” Andrew Bauman, executive director of The Bowen Center. say Inside the Indiana business.
The poll was released just days after Indiana Rep. Mitch Gore (D) effectively introduced the legislation legalize the possession and cultivation of limited amounts of marijuana. It is one of several reform options that have been tabled in the legislature so far for this year’s session.
Whether lawmakers ultimately take up any of the pending measures remains to be seen, but cannabis reform advocates generally he struggled to get ahead in the conservative legislature in recent years
That said, the state’s GOP governor recently called out President Donald Trump’s move to federally deregulate marijuana. He could add “some fire” to the local push to legalize cannabis in his state. A month later, Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to remove cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
So did Gov. Mike Braun (R). Last year he said it was “appropriate” to legalize medical cannabis.
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Meanwhile, a member of the state’s congressional delegation, Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), opposed statewide reform even as he anticipated Trump’s decision to reorganize in earlier comments.
“President Trump has been honest, when it comes to marijuana, he’s made it very clear that we shouldn’t be sniffing it on the street. You have a lot of states that have legalized it. It’s caused even more crime and problems,” Banks said. “I hope Indiana never becomes a state that legalizes marijuana, by the way.”
The senator admitted, however, that there is likely to be “more dialogue” on the matter.
Braun, for his part, He previously said it is “probably time” to introduce therapeutic cannabis among state patients. The comments came alongside a separate poll showing that nearly 9 in 10 Indiana adults (87 percent) support the legalization of marijuana.
The main Republicans in the Legislature, however, They have openly opposed marijuana reform.
“It’s no secret that I’m not,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said at the end of 2024. “I don’t have people coming to me with really compelling medical cases to find out why it’s so beneficial. And any situation I’ve seen, it’s passing medical marijuana, it’s basically passing recreational marijuana.”
House Speaker Todd Huston (R) questioned any medical benefits associated with marijuana, calling the substance a “mental health deterrent.” He and others suggested that lawmakers in favor of reform simply want to increase state revenue.
Some Marijuana reform bills have been introduced for the 2025 session of the Indiana legislatureincluding by Reps. Jim Lucas (R) and Shane Lindauer (R), which would legalize medical marijuana for people with “severe medical conditions determined by a physician.”