Five states will vote on the measure for recreational and medical use of Cannabis during the midterm elections.
Five states will vote on the measure for recreational and medical use of Cannabis during the midterm elections.
On November 8th, five states voted on marijuana legalization ballot measures. In the central U.S., voters in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota all considered citizen initiatives to legalize marijuana. These four states are Republican leaning in their voting preferences and local governments. In Maryland, which has a divided government, the legislature voted to put the issue before voters. The measure passed in two states and failed in three.
At the national level support for the measures was pushed by such organizations as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws which was able to draw on the support of several celebrities for its campaign.
“I’m a travel writer, and for me, high is a place. Sometimes I want to go there,”wrote travel writer Rick Steves,” If my government says I can’t go, there should be a good reason. There is no good reason that an American should be denied the civil liberty of enjoying marijuana.” Steves whose iconic travel guides have introduced scores of Americans to European travel destinations wrote an op-ed ahead of the November 8th elections for the website of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law.
Here’s a summary of those measures:
“I’m in my 40’s and have never voted in a midterm election in my life. I will be voting tomorrow, straight Republican, pro-legalizing recreational marijuana. Close liberal friends also voting GOP for the first time ever,”said Twtter user who apparently spokef or many given the number of Republican leaning states that voted for Marijuana legalization measures.
I’m in my 40’s and have never voted in a midterm election in my life. I will be voting tomorrow, straight Republican, pro-legalizing recreational marijuana. Close liberal friends also voting GOP for the first time ever. #BlueTsunami2022 ain’t crappening.
— Trubblesum Scamp (@TrubblesumScamp) November 8, 2022
Here are the latest results according to media reports:
Marijuana is legal in 19 states and D.C. Eleven of those states and D.C. legalized marijuana through the ballot initiative process. One state, New Jersey, passed a legislatively referred measure.
In 12 states where marijuana is currently prohibited, the initiative process could be used to legalize recreational or medical marijuana. In addition to the four states deciding marijuana initiatives in 2022, Oklahoma will vote on marijuana legalization in 2023. Marijuana legalization initiatives targeting the 2023 and 2024 ballots have also been filed in Ohio, Wyoming, Florida, and Nebraska and could be filed in Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Utah.
Produced in association with Ballotpedia.
(Additional reporting provided by Samuel Wonacott and Alberto Arellano)
Edited by Alberto Arellano and Joseph Hammond