Six in 10 Minnesotans support federal marijuana legalization even though most said they hadn't used the drug recently, according to a new poll.

The Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll found that 61% of respondents support legalizing recreational marijuana for adults nationwide while 34% oppose it. A clear majority of Democrats and independents support federal legalization while most Republicans said they oppose it.

"I think the country's experience with prohibition has been resoundingly negative," said Michael Krause, a 70-year-old retiree from St. Louis Park who thinks marijuana should be treated the same as alcohol. "I'm not a fan of marijuana or any other intoxicant, particularly, but attempting to prevent people from obtaining it hasn't worked. It's only served to criminalize people who shouldn't necessarily be considered criminals."

Support for federal marijuana legalization varied along geographic lines, with 72% of voters in Hennepin and Ramsey counties favoring it compared with just 53% in northern Minnesota.

The poll's findings are based on interviews with 800 likely Minnesota voters conducted Sept. 16-18. The poll's margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

(Scroll to the end of this article for full results for each question. Click here for the poll methodology, a demographic breakdown of the sample and a map of the poll regions.)

This is the first time the Star Tribune has polled about federal marijuana legalization and personal use. A 2022 Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Poll found that 53% of voters supported legalizing recreational marijuana in Minnesota.

Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older the following year. Retail dispensaries are expected to open sometime in 2025. The state already has a robust market of hemp-derived edibles and beverages that adults can purchase at hemp shops, liquor stores, bars and breweries.

Cannabis use among Minnesotans still isn't common, however. Just 14% of those surveyed in the latest Minnesota Poll reported consuming marijuana or hemp-derived products in the past month, compared with 85% who said they hadn't.

Cannabis consumption was highest among likely voters in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, with 18% reporting they had used the drug in the past month. People under 50 reported using marijuana or hemp-derived products at a higher rate than older Minnesotans.

Democrats and independents were three times more likely than Republicans to have used cannabis in the past month. About 95% of Republicans surveyed said they hadn't used marijuana or hemp-derived products recently.

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Matt Thomas, a dairy farmer from Lakeville, said he hasn't used cannabis but is open to it. He said he knows plenty of people who use the drug both recreationally and therapeutically.

"Maybe I would try it. I do enjoy my cigars," Thomas said. "I suppose I'd wrap one up and give it a whirl."

Kurtis Hanna, a longtime cannabis lobbyist in Minnesota, said he thinks more Minnesotans will view marijuana favorably once dispensaries open across the state.

"If we were a year into [the market] and people were used to driving by the cannabis store down the street, I think that it would probably go up just due to familiarity with their local shop owners," said Hanna, who is a public policy and government relations specialist for the cannabis consulting firm Blunt Strategies. "They know their neighbors drive down the street to get it."

Staff writer Josie Albertson-Grove contributed to this report.

FULL RESULTS

The Star Tribune, MPR News and KARE 11 interviewed 800 Minnesota registered voters between Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, 2024. All indicated they are likely to vote in the November general election. Findings from questions about marijuana are below. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Click here for details about how the poll was conducted, the demographics of the 800 respondents and a map of the Minnesota regions used in this poll.