But in , when voters passed an adult-use legalization measure, the state made a crucial mistake: high taxes and expensive licenses discouraged existing retailers and customers to make the switch, and the established grey market just, well, stayed put.
Denver, Colorado, is an innovation hub for high-tech pot. Colorado, which passed a ballot initiative in , was the first state to establish a recreational marijuana market.
Consequently, the laws surrounding legal cannabis are a work in progress. In March, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill to establish a social equity program to provide loans, grants, and education for communities hardest hit by the war on drugs. The state is also facing attacks from anti-marijuana activists, who are pushing for potency caps, particularly on extracts , which have long been popular in Colorado.
Beginning July 1st, adults 21 and over will be able to possess of up to 1. The commercial market is expected to be up and running by May Half of the available business licenses will be earmarked for social equity applicants, whom the state will offer technical training and financial assistance. A large portion of the tax revenue generated from commercial cannabis would be invested in communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Connecticut has maintained a medical marijuana system for nearly a decade, with more than 50, patients currently enrolled in the program for a wide range of reasons.
It came as no surprise when the state legalized recreational use this summer, especially considering nearby New Jersey and New York had done so in the past year.
Delaware legalized cannabis for medicinal use way back in , although home cultivation is not allowed. In March, a poll by medical cannabis advocacy group Florida for Cares found that 58 percent of Floridians are in favor of the state legalizing the drug for adult use. THC products are very much illegal.
In , over 50, cannabis arrests were made in the state, which had the 5th-highest cannabis-related arrest rate in the nation. In , Democrats in the state legislature introduced the Georgia Justice Act, which would decriminalize low-level possession.
The legislature is still, however, controlled by Republicans. Medical cannabis is legal and possession of less than three grams of cannabis was decriminalized in , but Hawaii does not have a recreational program. Lawmakers are trying to change that. In February, two bills were approved by a Senate committee, one to increase the decriminalization threshold from three grams to an ounce, and one to legalize cannabis for adult use.
Things are not moving in the right direction in Idaho. Not only is anything with a trace of THC illegal, in February the state Senate voted to write cannabis prohibition into the Constitution, which would effectively prevent residents from voting to legalize it. The fight over legalization in Illinois came down not to if, but how. Chicago, perhaps the most segregated city in the U. The result was one of the most progressive legalization plans of its time when it was signed in Not only did it legalize for adults, it guaranteed expungement or pardons for anyone with a low-level nonviolent conviction nearly half a million people were able to have their records cleared as of December Some jurisdictions have taken it a step further, funneling pot revenue directly into the communities that were targeted.
Indiana is very Republican, and cannabis is very illegal there. Though Governor Eric Holcombe signed a bill to legalize CBD in , penalties are still harsh for anything containing more than. Medicinal cannabis is legal in Iowa, but the program is pretty limited. Only around 5, Iowans have medical cards, and patients are not permitted to use flower.
All cannabis is illegal in Kansas, but in February Democratic Governor Laura Kell proposed legalizing it for medicinal use to help expand Medicaid. Weeks later, lawmakers introduced a bill to do just that. The problem is the state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and declined to take up a similar medical cannabis bill passed by the House in Two-thirds of Louisiana voters are in favor of recreational cannabis in the state, but so far, legalization efforts are slow going.
The state enacted medical cannabis laws way back in , but it took until for a comprehensive program to be established. Even then, patients were only allowed tinctures for a limited number of conditions. Gummies and some other extracts have since been allowed, though, and in June of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill legalizing smokeable cannabis for medicinal purposes.
A week earlier, he signed a bill decriminalizing possession. Already, though, some in the state — which has had a medical program since , reliant mostly on small growers — worry that change is happening too fast. Big, multi-state cannabis companies are targeting the state brand names like Keef are already on dispensary shelves leaving some to worry that the mom-and-pop legacy will be lost.
Two bills, both focused on social equity, progressed through the state legislature this year, but after each getting a single committee hearing, neither advanced. Lawmakers have said they will try again next year. Even now, rollout of retail shops has been slow, with only 77 licensed recreational dispensaries open as of October.
As a result, the number of patients in the program grew to over , in , up from 67, the year before. Michiganders voted overwhelmingly to legalize cannabis for recreational use in , with the first dispensaries opening up a little over a year later.
Possession of up to 2. Public consumption, however, is not permitted. Last October, Governor Gretchen Whitmer was able to sign legislation that allows residents with low-level cannabis convictions to have their records expunged. Minnesota, which has had medically legal weed since , is currently putting an adult-use legalization bill through the ringer.
I thought we had done everything right. Lawmakers have since been exploring ways to implement a medicinal program like the one voters approved last fall, but for now cannabis is still fully illegal in the state. The party does have at least one legalization advocate. Shamad Dogan said earlier this year in proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis. Montana was one of the five states that voted in favor of cannabis ballot initiatives last November.
According to a poll by Quinnipiac University, support for marijuana legalization differed according to political party affiliation, with Democrats and independents generally favoring legalization and Republicans generally opposing legalization.
See the table below for further details. However, the same poll found significantly higher support across all partisan affiliations for the legalization of medical marijuana. At the federal level, the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana have remained federal offenses. When states began to legalize it, first for medical and then for personal use, enforcement became more complicated because states enforce their own narcotics statutes.
This caused a conflict between the federal and state governments: what was illegal at the federal level was now legal in some places at the state level. Consequently, the Obama administration in October encouraged federal prosecutors not to prosecute individuals distributing or using marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with state law.
On August 29, , the U. Department of Justice made another announcement regarding its marijuana enforcement policy: "In a new memorandum outlining the policy, the Department makes clear that marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act and that federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute Based on assurances that those states will impose an appropriately strict regulatory system, the Department has informed the governors of [Colorado and Washington, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in ] that it is deferring its right to challenge their legalization laws at this time.
On August 11, , the federal government rejected a proposal to declassify marijuana as an illegal Schedule I drug and to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. The Food and Drug Administration FDA stated that marijuana has not been proven scientifically to be medically safe or effective; therefore, the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA could not allow the drug to be declassified. On December 20, , President Donald Trump R signed the Agricultural Improvement Act of , more commonly known as the Farm Bill, into law, which legalized the production of hemp by removing it from the Schedule I list of controlled substances under federal law.
The bill defined hemp as any cannabis plant, or part of a cannabis plant, that contains less than 0. Below are lists of the certified and proposed marijuana ballot measures that were intended for ballots:. Local marijuana on the ballot: This topic refers to local ballot measures regarding the local regulation of marijuana sales and use. The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Marijuana legalization ballot.
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Share this page Follow Ballotpedia. What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. Affirmative action Affirmative action by state Affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws Federal campaign finance laws and regulations Nonprofit regulation As of June , 18 states and Washington, D.
Vermont was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana through an act of the legislature when Gov. By population estimates, roughly 46 percent of Americans live in a state or Washington, D. Recreational use Medical use Timeline. File:Cannabis Plant. The ruling was appealed. Categories : Pages with broken file links Ongoing news Ongoing news, ballots Public policy concepts and issues.
Hidden category: Pages with reference errors. Eighteen states, two territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of cannabis marijuana for adult recreational use. In late June, Connecticut became the latest state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis with the passage of SB Some aspects of the bill do not take effect immediately, but those 21 years old and higher will be able to recreationally use cannabis starting July 1, On April 7, , Virginia's legislature accepted the governor's recommended amendments for a significantly speedier implementation window for HB which would legalize recreational cannabis use in Virginia and establish a regulated commercial market.
New York legalized cannabis with the governor's signature of AB , which was passed during New York's session. Additionally, on March 30, , New Mexico's legislature introduced its Cannabis Regulation Act within their first special session. The bill, HB 2a, has been signed by the Governor.
Quickly after the amendment passed, it was challenged in court. On Feb. The map below summarizes cannabis policy throughout the states as of June Colorado and Wa shington approved adult-use recreational marijuana measures in Alaska , Oregon and District of Columbia followed suit in fall of In , Ohio voters defeated a ballot measure that addressed commercial production and sale of recreational marijuana.
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