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Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, was the single most important day for drug reform in America. If a blue wave didn’t hit America, a green wave did: the wave of marijuana reform. Every single ballot measure for the legalization or decriminalization of illicit substances was met with resounding approval.
Let’s recapitulate: Arizona legalized recreational marijuana. Montana legalized recreational marijuana. New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana. South Dakota legalized both medical and recreational marijuana. Mississippi legalized medical marijuana. Washington, D.C., decriminalized psychedelic plants. Oregon legalized psilocybin (psychedelic substance) therapy and decriminalized all drugs.
“We are thrilled with such a big night for cannabis legalization! What’s most thrilling is that it really shows that the support for cannabis legalization is widespread in the American public,” says Steven Hawkins, Executive Director of Marijuana Policy Project, the organization behind much of the grassroots effort to reform cannabis laws. “We expect more states will follow.”
Among the states that are probably going to follow suit, we can count New Mexico, Minnesota and Maryland, as well as New York and Connecticut—both will be impacted by the fact that New Jersey legalized marijuana. “New Jersey passing legalization will make it a real magnet for people from New York,” Hawkins estimates. All those states—and they are not alone—have seriously looked into the process to follow to legalize cannabis, either through a ballot measure in 2022 or through an act of the respective state legislatures.
One key victory is the fact that, even in Republican strongholds, marijuana reform gathered widespread support, hinting at the fact that reform is now fully bipartisan. “There is potential for Republican support even in Congress,” Hawkins explains. “The Republican Majority Whip, John Thune (S.D.), now represents a state where the electorate voted for legal cannabis. When Republicans represent their states’ business interests, as the cannabis industry continues to grow, that’s jobs, that’s tax revenue and impact on local economies—I can’t imagine that people can be pro-business and against cannabis.”
“The passage of medical cannabis in Mississippi will begin to change the South. There's a handful of southern states that haven’t done anything with regard to medical cannabis, like Alabama and South Carolina. We could see another domino effect from Mississippi passing ballot initiatives that will have an impact on surrounding states,” Hawkins predicts. Like many experts in the field, he sees an imminent “tipping point” where the federal government will be pressured to take action and bring the legalization movement to the national level.
“The tipping point is not a decade away; it’s a matter of a year or two. It is going to happen when we get 20 or 25 states that have adopted full legalization. Certainly, when the next ballot initiatives happen in 2022, we will be at that point.”
What Will Happen in the States that Voted for Reform?
In Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota and Mississippi, although legalization has been approved by the ballots, residents cannot start smoking weed openly just yet. It might take up to a few months for state law to catch up with the electorate.
In Arizona, the law is expected to take effect on Monday, Nov. 30. After that, individuals will be allowed to possess and use up to one ounce of marijuana, as well as to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use. We might have to wait until February 2021 before seeing the first retailers selling adult-use marijuana. Arizona’s Proposition 207 was approved with 60% of votes.
Montana residents will have to wait until January 1, 2021, to legally possess and consume up to one ounce of marijuana, as well as to grow up to four marijuana plants. Regulators can begin to process applications for cannabis businesses that same day. Montana’s Initiative 190 was approved with 57% of votes.
New Jersey’s Question 1, which was approved by 67% of voters, is a constitutional amendment that allows possession and use of marijuana; it will go into effect on January 1, 2021. It is now up to the New Jersey Legislature to create the legal framework for the upcoming marijuana industry.
South Dakota made history by becoming the first state to ever legalize both medical and recreational marijuana at the same time, proving that there is no actual need to wait years between one and the other as has been the norm so far. The state’s Measure 26 to legalize medical marijuana won by a vast majority of 70%, while the recreational Amendment A won by just 54%. Under the new law, adults can possess up to one ounce and grow up to three marijuana plants for personal use. The state legislature has until April 2022 to finalize rules and apply both measures, but possession and use of small amounts of marijuana will be legal starting on July 1, 2021.
Mississippi’s ballot measure was designed to trip up voters: The Republican legislature divided the legalization of medical marijuana into two initiatives, 65 or 65A. Initiative 65 supported a common-sense medical marijuana program, 65A was the Republican Party’s minefield, technically legalizing marijuana but only for terminally ill patients and with a vastly reduced scope. Initiative 65 crushed its bad-faith opponent with 74% of votes. The measure orders that Mississippi’s medical marijuana program be up and running no later than August 15, 2021.
The measures in Oregon and Washington, D.C., which expand the decriminalization effort to other illicit substances is showing the path ahead. Once legal marijuana is a reality for the entire country—and it will be, if this green wave is any indicator—then ending the War on Drugs will be the next step. For now, cannabis is at the center of the debate because it is, by far, the most common reason for unjustified arrests, but any drug arrest is unjustified if the person in question only possessed personal-use amounts of an illicit substance. That’s the message that Oregon—always ahead of the curve—and our nation’s capital now defend. Like Portugal, which decriminalized all drugs with incredible success, America just took its first step towards harm reduction and public health rather than criminal prosecution for drug users.
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