The European continent is now home to more countries that have adopted national adult-use cannabis legalization measures than all other continents combined. Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and the Czech Republic have all adopted such measures, with Uruguay, Canada, and South Africa rounding out the nationally legalized list.

Additionally, the Netherlands and Switzerland are home to several regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials, and in the case of Switzerland specifically, adult-use legalization appears to be on the horizon and could occur very soon.

With all of that recreational cannabis policy modernization occurring in the region, a notable holdout is the United Kingdom, where advocates have pushed for adult-use legalization for many years, but have yet to convince lawmakers to make the public policy change.

YouGov recently conducted a survey asking Britons about their views toward cannabis. The survey involved a total of 2,053 participants and was conducted between March 31st and April 1st, 2026. The survey asked several cannabis-related questions.

When asked, “Have you or have you not ever used cannabis in any form?” a total of 37% of respondents indicated that they had at least once in their lifetime, with an additional 2% answering that they would “prefer not to say.” By comparison, 41.5% in Canada report having consumed cannabis during their lifetime, and 44.2% in the United States have reported doing so.

Participants were also asked, “Generally speaking, to what extent would you support or oppose the legalisation of cannabis in the UK?” A total of 47% of participants answered “Strongly / tend to support” and 43% answered “Strongly / tend to oppose.” The remaining participants answered, “Don’t know.”

YouGov drilled down further on the legalization views by asking participants, “And when put this way, with regard to cannabis, which of these statements comes closest to your own view?” Below is a breakdown of how participants answered:

• 35% answered “The sale and possession of cannabis should remain a criminal offence as it is now”
• 33% answered “The sale and possession of cannabis should no longer be illegal (sometimes called ‘legalisation’)
• 23% answered “The sale and possession of cannabis should remain illegal but should be regarded as a minor offence, such as parking in the wrong place, rather than a criminal offence (a policy sometimes called ‘decriminalisation’)
• 9% answered “Don’t know”

When asked, “As far as you are aware, which of the following political parties support the full legalisation of cannabis?” a majority (52%) answered that they did not know which political parties supported full legalization out of the options of Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, or Greens. “N/A: None of these parties support the legalisation of cannabis” was also an option for participants to select.

“The only party that a substantial number of Britons think backs legalisation are the Greens, with 31% of Britons saying so.” wrote YouGov about the results. “The only party that pledged to legalise cannabis at the 2024 general election were the Liberal Democrats, but only 7% of Britons believe the party holds that stance. Only 0-1% think each of Labour, Reform and the Tories support legalisation. A further 14% say that none of the five major parties support making cannabis legal.”