Nearly two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization, a new IBD/TIPP poll found, and nearly one-fifth of investor households consumed cannabis in the past six months as more marijuana stocks appear on exchanges.

Consistent with polling elsewhere, 63% of Americans said marijuana should be legalized. Support for marijuana legalization was highest in the West, at 72%, and lowest in the Northeast but still a majority at 55%.

Only 46% of Republicans said weed should be legalized. That compared to 66% of self-described Independents and 75% of Democrats who said it should be legal.

Across all political, ethnic and age groups surveyed, the only demographic groups that fell short of majority support for marijuana legalization were Republicans, conservatives and Americans aged 65 and older.

The poll also found that 23% of Americans said they or someone in their home had consumed cannabis for medical or recreational purposes over the past half-year. The highest prevalence — 35% — was among people ages 25-44. Among political affiliation, 27% of independents said they'd used marijuana, compared with 25% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans.

When investors were asked whether they or someone in their household used cannabis over the past six months, 19% said yes while 32% said no.

Widening Marijuana Legalization

Cannabis is legal in some form in most U.S. states. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, which is legally defined as cannabis with THC levels lower than 0.3%. However, hemp is still a source of CBD, or cannabidiol, which users say has a variety of calming, anti-inflammatory effects on the body without THC's phychoactive high. Research on CBD's exact effects is scarce.

Illinois became the the first state to enact marijuana legalization for recreational uses via its legislature.

The Senate Banking Committee last month held a hearing on the difficulties the cannabis industry faces surrounding access to banking services. The hearing marked the latest sign of progress for the industry, which is still federally illegal and largely operating on cash.

In Canada, marijuana legalization will take its next step as the government will allow the sale of products like vapes, edibles and beverages later this year. Recreational cannabis sales for dry buds, joints, capsules and tinctures went legal in October of last year.

Marijuana Stocks Give Up Gains

With marijuana legalization expanding, the number of marijuana stocks available to investors has also multiplied.

But marijuana stocks reversed lower, after a jolt higher on Friday following strong quarterly results from Aphria (APHA).

Aphria stock fell 4.1% in the stock market today. The stock has a 27 Composite Rating and a 38 EPS Rating. Aphria was above its 50-day line.

Canopy Growth (CGC) slipped 4.1%. Aurora Cannabis (ACB) lost 2.2%. Tilray (TRLY) dropped 2.2%. CannTrust (CTST) tumbled 4.4%. Cronos Group (CRON) declined 3%.