Record-high shares of Americans believe the country has made progress in the war on drugs, according to the latest Gallup polling released Wednesday.
The company found that 45% of adults said the country is making “much” or “some” progress toward “coping with the problem of illegal drugs,” the highest Gallup has recorded since 47% said the same in 2000.
Only 24% of adults said the same when Gallup last posed the question in 2023. That was the lowest since the company began surveying the issue in 1995.
Gallup analyst Justin McCarthy said the polling swing reflects “a surge in optimism” among Republican respondents as the Trump administration launches missile strikes on suspected drug boats shipping illegal fentanyl and other opioids into America.
“Americans are more encouraged about the nation’s progress in dealing with the problem of illegal drugs, but this mainly reflects improved Republican perceptions under Trump and his aggressive actions to limit the entry of drugs into the U.S.,” Mr. McCarthy wrote in a summary of the findings.
The share of Republicans saying the nation has made progress with illegal drugs jumped by a staggering 62 percentage points from the last poll in 2023, rising from 12% to a record-high 74% for that group.
Perceptions of progress among self-described independents grew more slowly over the same period, from 21% to 34%, and dropped among Democrats from 40% to 33%.
The White House applauded the survey results in a statement to The Washington Times, noting Mr. Trump’s commitment to “always fight for American citizens” by stopping illegal immigration.
“On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to secure the border, take on the cartels, and curb the influx of deadly drugs into our country,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman. “He has already taken decisive action to stop the illegal migrant invasion, deport violent criminals, and defend our homeland against evil narcoterrorists — which is saving countless lives across the country.”
In an emailed statement, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration touted $1.5 billion in federal opioid response grants and $45 million in funding for at-risk people.
“We are pleased with the Trump Administration’s strong progress in addressing the nation’s challenges with illegal drugs, progress that is clear to the American public,” said Art Kleinschmidt, a licensed addiction counselor and SAMHSA’s principal deputy assistant secretary.
According to other drug policy and addiction experts reached for comment, the survey results confirm that President Trump’s policies have shifted public perception on a pandemic-era surge in drug overdose deaths.
“Politics aside, Trump is exponentially more media savvy than Biden was, and he never misses an opportunity to share his thoughts, opinions, and ’wins,’” said Justin Todd, a Michigan-based addiction expert and co-founder of AddictionResource.net.
Some said more research is needed to confirm whether reality has changed along with public perception.
“Yes, the administration appears to have improved the optics significantly, and that matters,” said Jerry Joyner, a Texas-based marijuana advocate who tracks federal drug policies. “But whether that will translate into substantive, sustainable progress remains to be seen.”
Others pointed to a February estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that drug overdose deaths dropped by 24% between October 2023 and September 2024 from the previous year.
“If overdoses were as high as ever, I don’t think [Trump] destroying boats would affect many people’s opinion of U.S. drug policy,” said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University psychologist and addiction researcher.
Among all respondents to this year’s Gallup poll, 10% said the country was making “much” progress, a record high in the 30-year trend.
An additional 35% of adults surveyed said that “some progress” has been made, 28% said nothing has changed and 15% said the nation has lost “some ground.”
Plus, 8% of respondents said the country has lost “much ground,” a record low in the polling trend.
Economist David Powell, a University of Pennsylvania health policy professor who researches illegal opioid and fentanyl use, concurred that fewer overdose deaths under the Biden administration likely contributed to the new Gallup polling benchmarks.
He noted the CDC’s numbers of October 2023 to September 2024 showing 87,000 overdose deaths, down from 114,000 the previous year and the fewest for any yearlong period since June 2020.
“We finally saw some progress in curbing opioid-related overdoses during that time,” Mr. Powell said. “While overdose deaths are still high, they are heading in the right direction.”
Gallup conducted a randomized national telephone survey of 1,000 adults from Oct. 1-16. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
