Americans are more optimistic about the US effort to combat illegal drugs than they have been at any point in the last quarter-century, according to polling from Gallup — figures that the Trump administration is likely to celebrate.
Forty-five percent of Americans say the US has made progress against illegal drugs, the highest percentage recorded since 2000 and just years after a record low of 24% in 2023.
A chart showing Americans who think the US has made progress in coping with the illegal drug problem in the past two years, by party, based on Gallup polling.
The increase has been driven by Republicans, 74% of whom say progress has been made — a 62-point jump since 2023. The share of independents who see progress is up 13 percentage points, while fewer Democrats say the same.
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President Donald Trump has used a range of tools he says are needed to squelch out illegal drugs, from tariffs to strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean (though there are plenty of doubts about the cargo and destination of those boats).
