Report · Health

Americans narrowly favor international cooperation to deal with illicit drugs

Reading

No single approach to illicit drugs draws majority support, and Americans divide over the best one: close to three-in-ten (29%) back international cooperation, according to a September 2023 Verasight survey.

Economic sanctions (27%) and legalizing drugs (25%) trail only narrowly, keeping the top three options tightly bunched. Smaller shares favor military action (15%) or some other approach (17%), and about one-in-six (18%) reject every option offered.

Topline

select all

Selected responses

Americans narrowly favor international cooperation to deal with illicit drugs.

How can we best deal with illicit drugs?

  • International Cooperation 29.2%
  • Economic sanctions 27.3%
  • Legalize them 25.3%
  • None of the above 17.6%
  • Other 16.9%
  • Military 14.7%

2023 · base n 2,000 · +/- 2.3%

APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2023-09-07 → 2023-09-13
Base (unweighted)
2,000
Margin of error
+/- 2.3%
Module
2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

Source

Citation

2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071, fielded September 7-13, 2023, N=2,000 United States adults, +/- 2.3%.

https://verasight-apsa-2023.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.