Majority of New Jerseyans still support weed dispensaries in their towns, Stockton poll finds

A new Stockton University Poll released today finds that a majority of New Jerseyans remain supportive of legal marijuana dispensaries being allowed to operate in their towns, with 53% of poll respondents indicating support versus 39% who were opposed.

That represents a slight drop from Stockton’s 2022 poll, which found 56% of respondents in support of dispensaries and 36% opposed. It’s also well down from a 2020 marijuana referendum that passed 67%-33% statewide – perhaps an indication that voters are more likely to back legal weed in the abstract than they are in their own towns.

Still, as countless towns across the state debate whether to allow dispensaries (and in many cases deciding that the answer is no), Stockton’s poll is an indication that New Jerseyans overall remain supportive of legal weed.

The poll additionally asked about cannabis consumption lounges; respondents were narrowly in favor (49%-45%) of allowing such lounges in their towns, and were similarly split (48%-45%) on lounges and cannabis-themed attractions being allowed in tourist towns.

Notably, the poll found that actual usage of marijuana was much lower than professed support for legal sales or consumption lounges. Only 32% of respondents said they had used marijuana or other cannabis products in the last year, compared to 66% who had not; of the portion of respondents who had, 69% said they purchased products at a licensed dispensary in New Jersey.

That indicates that there is a significant bloc of New Jerseyans who don’t use marijuana themselves, but are supportive of it being legal anyways.

The Stockton University poll was conducted from April 1-14 with a sample size of 660 New Jersey adults and a margin of error of +/- 3.8%.