Public Opinion Fires Up Support for Cannabis in NC

RALEIGH – A large majority of North Carolina adults support legalizing adult-use Cannabis for medical use, and a smaller but clear majority backs recreational legalization as well, according to an Elon University Poll. The survey also found that most residents want hemp-derived THC products [seltzers, gummies, and similar items] to stay on shelves, but with a firm age floor.

Fielded by YouGov between August 21 and 31 among 800 North Carolina adults, the poll found three in four residents favor legalizing Cannabis for medical purposes, with only 11% in opposition. Support for recreational legalization came in at 55%, with 30% opposed. On hemp THC products, 53% said sales should remain legal, 28% said they should be banned, and 19% were still undecided.

That last finding may be the most politically loaded.

North Carolina’s General Assembly took up legislation this year that would have restricted intoxicating hemp products, including a 21-and-over purchase requirement, but lawmakers failed to reach a final agreement before the session ended. For now, THC gummies and seltzers remain available at gas stations and convenience stores statewide, with no minimum purchase age in place.

Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat who has publicly called the current situation the “wild West,” launched the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis in 2025 – a 24-member body charged with delivering a comprehensive regulatory framework and proposed legislation to his office by the end of 2026.

On the age restriction question, the public showed rare bipartisan unity. Eighty-two percent of all adults surveyed backed prohibiting hemp product sales to anyone under 21, including majorities on both sides of the aisle. Broader legalization breaks more sharply along party lines: Democrats back medical Cannabis at 89%, Republicans at 57%. For recreational use, the split is wider still – 74% of Democrats in favor against just 33% of Republicans.

Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll and professor of political science and public policy, noted that overall support “has largely been stable” for the past five years, tracking closely as neighboring states moved forward with their own legalization frameworks. North Carolina remains among the small number of states where Cannabis is prohibited for both medical and recreational use.

What this data makes plain is that public opinion in North Carolina is no longer the obstacle. The resistance sits in the General Assembly, where Republican lawmakers have repeatedly blocked broader legalization even as their own base softens on medical use. The 21-plus age floor on hemp products [the one position where 82% of North Carolinians agree regardless of party] is the clearest point of consensus on the table right now. Legislators who can agree on protecting minors first may well have a workable foundation for a broader Cannabis framework down the road.

The question is no longer what the public wants.
It’s what Raleigh is prepared to do about it.