Deep Dive: Where cannabis legalization efforts stand across the country
Image: @Politico
10 years ago, Colorado & Washington became the first states to full legalize recreational cannabis.
SInce that time, there has been significant momentum to legalize recreational and/or medical cannabis across the nation.
Politico had a great article recently outlining the current legalization landscape, and what lies ahead.
Three points of emphasis are below:
1: The Current Situation
As it stands, 19 states have embraced full legalization, while 19 others have enacted medical marijuana programs.
However, many of the holdouts are deeply conservative states where lawmakers tend to be more skeptical of cannabis legalization than their constituents.
In fact, this trend seems to be pervasive across the board.
From the article: “Elected officials remain far behind the times,” said Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for Marijuana Policy Project. If it were left up to voters, O’Keefe believes, every state would have some form of legal cannabis by now.
2: States That Enacted Legislation in 2022 Two states on opposite ends of the political and cultural spectrum are enacting significant cannabis legalization in 2022. Rhode Island's legislature passed a bill allowing full cannabis legalization, allowing for 33 dispensaries to start selling on Dec 1. Mississippi's legislature passed a bill enabling Medical cannabis, two years after a voter backed medical marijuana legalization referendum was struck down by the state Supreme Court. Medical cannabis sales could potentially begin by the end of this year. These two states show that cannabis legalization efforts are happening not just in deep blue states, but also in deep red states, albeit at a slower pace, 3: Ballot Referendums in 2022
There are a wide range of states with pending ballot referendums, with varying levels of probable success. Many groups in these states are working to make progress for cannabis legalization within deep red political infrastructures, and also sometimes face scrutiny from competing legalization efforts.
Maryland is likely to pass a referendum on recreational cannabis this year after years of legislative efforts to do so have fallen flat.
States like South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska also have pending referendums, but face uphill battles from state political dynamics, industry watchdogs, and a decades of anti-cannabis stigma working against them.
Despite these forces, we could see the likes of South Dakota legalize possession and home grows of cannabis in 2022. Grassroots efforts in other states could gain momentum as well, even if legalization in 2022 is a long shot.
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After 10 years of monumental cannabis legalization efforts across the United States, it seems that remaining legalization efforts are at a crossroads for more conservative states.
However, the fact that there is significant citizen and legislative energy being allocated to these efforts is a positive sign. It seems that continued legalization progress is inevitable.
The only question is: will federal legalization happen before every state makes cannabis legal?
Read More:
Where cannabis legalization efforts stand across the country
[POLITICO]
