Cannabis reform has one midterm Election Day victory so far.
Ten years ago, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize marijuana for adult use when voters approved ballot measures in 2012. Since then, a total of 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.
Maryland just became the 20th.
Federal marijuana legalization is seemingly stopped in its tracks, but votes are still being counted in another four states that are poised to change cannabis policy and could ultimately make adult-use marijuana legal for more than half of the nation.
According to an April 2021 Pew Research Center survey, 91 percent of US adults favor some form of marijuana legalization. Before Election Day, 43 percent of US adults lived in a jurisdiction that has legalized marijuana for adults over 21; sales of adult-use and medical marijuana products hit $25 billion in 2021 and, by one Wall Street estimate, could reach $100 billion by 2030. And last month, President Joe Biden announced that he’s taking steps to overhaul America’s federal cannabis laws, starting by pardoning everyone convicted of simple marijuana possession at the federal level.
Maryland was widely expected to approve legalization. Notably, four states with legal marijuana on the November 8 ballot are traditionally conservative: Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota voters are all also considering measures legalizing cannabis.
“Four of the five states voting have two Republican senators and either completely or majority Republican congressional delegations in the house,” says BOWL PAC founder Justin Strekal, a longtime cannabis lobbyist in Washington, DC, and the former political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “Voters deciding on adult use could significantly change the calculus for their federal representatives as to how to approach cannabis at the national level.”
Here’s a quick overview of the measures and where they stand.Maryland: Question 4 (Passed)
Earlier this year, Maryland legislators voted to put a marijuana legalization referendum on the November ballot. Question 4 asked: “Do you favor the legalization of the use of cannabis by an individual who is at least 21 years of age on or after July 1, 2023, in the State of Maryland?”
The voters approved the measure, making recreational cannabis legal in Maryland, where medical marijuana has been legal since 2013, by amending the state constitution. The legislation made the purchase and possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis legal for adults 21 and older, and removed criminal penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces. In addition, adults are allowed to grow up to two plants for personal use and gift cannabis legally.
Past convictions for conduct made legal under the proposed law will be expunged, and people currently serving time for cannabis offenses will be eligible for resentencing, while those with convictions for possession with intent to distribute will be able to petition to have their records expunged three years after serving their time. Arkansas: Issue 4
Arkansas voters approved medical marijuana in 2016. Now they’ll consider legalizing cannabis for adult use with Issue 4, which would modify the state’s existing medical program.
The Responsible Growth Arkansas campaign turned in over 192,000 signatures in July to qualify for the November ballot. Following an attempt by the state Board of Elections to deny certification to the measure by declaring its wording insufficient, the campaign filed a lawsuit with the Arkansas Supreme Court in August. After weeks of uncertainty, the court ruled in favor of Responsible Growth Arkansas on September 22, clearing the way for the vote.
A September survey by Talk Business and Politics and Hendrix College found that 58.
