Editing Republican Party (United States) (section)

==== Drug legalization ====
{{See also|Illegal drug trade in the United States|Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction}}
Republican elected officials have historically supported the [[War on Drugs]]. They generally oppose [[legalization of drugs|legalization]] or decriminalization of drugs such as [[Cannabis in the United States|marijuana]].<ref name="Tesler-2022">{{Cite web |last=Tesler |first=Michael |date=April 20, 2022 |title=Why Do GOP Lawmakers Still Oppose Legalizing Weed? |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-do-gop-lawmakers-still-oppose-legalizing-weed/ |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=[[FiveThirtyEight]] |language=en-US |archive-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824002207/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-do-gop-lawmakers-still-oppose-legalizing-weed/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-drugs/|title=Republican Views on Drugs {{!}} Republican Views|website=www.republicanviews.org|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502010122/http://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-drugs/|archive-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2020|title=House votes to decriminalize marijuana as GOP resists national shift|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-marijuana-republicans-election/2020/12/04/db2b00a8-35b0-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221145058/https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-marijuana-republicans-election/2020/12/04/db2b00a8-35b0-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Opposition to the legalization of marijuana has softened significantly over time among Republican voters.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kneeland|first=Timothy W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vlUDAAAQBAJ&q=republican+party+opposition+drug+legalization&pg=PA206|title=Today's Social Issues: Democrats and Republicans: Democrats and Republicans|year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610698368|page=206|access-date=December 16, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215024943/https://books.google.com/books?id=8vlUDAAAQBAJ&q=republican+party+opposition+drug+legalization&pg=PA206|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Greg|last=Newburn|title=Top GOP Presidential Contenders Support Mandatory Minimum Reform|date=July 18, 2014|url=http://famm.org/top-gop-presidential-contenders-support-mandatory-minimum-reform/|publisher=[[Families Against Mandatory Minimums]]|access-date=December 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020752/http://famm.org/top-gop-presidential-contenders-support-mandatory-minimum-reform/|archive-date=November 29, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 2021 [[Quinnipiac University|''Quinnipiac'']] poll found that 62% of Republicans supported the legalization of recreational marijuana use and that net support for the position was +30 points.<ref name="Tesler-2022" /> Some Republican-controlled states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana in recent years.<ref name="NCSL MMJ">{{cite web|date=June 22, 2023|title=State Medical Cannabis Laws|url=https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx|access-date=April 26, 2024|publisher=[[National Conference of State Legislatures]]|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206034555/https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>