Share
Blue Wave Recap: Marijuana Legalization in Michigan, Missouri, Utah
The Blue Wave on November 6, 2018 included so much good news it was difficult to process it all. Over the next few weeks, Smart Dissent will attempt to recap the progress we made together including well-publicized topics and less covered ones.
Our seventh post focuses on marijuana legalization votes which passed in several states, something long overdue, considering two-thirds of people support legalization per a recent Gallup poll.
Voters in Michigan approved a ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana on Tuesday, and two other states — Missouri and Utah — endorsed medical marijuana laws.
Now 33 states have legalized marijuana to some degree, and recreational pot use is now legal in 10 states, along with Washington, D.C.
In summary, three states approved marijuana referendums: Michigan legalized it for recreational use (on top of medical), and Missouri & Utah for medical use. A summary of each:
.... voters in Michigan overwhelmingly approved Proposition 18-1, a ballot initiative that legalizes marijuana for adults who are age 21 or older, and allows for the sale of flower, concentrates or cannabis-infused edibles. The measure, which passed with 56 percent of votes, makes Michigan the... second largest behind California.... consumers would be allowed cultivate up to 12 plants for personal use... Using cannabis in public, though, is prohibited under the measure.
Missouri legalized medical marijuana after more than 64 percent of people voted to approve Amendment 2, one of three competing legalization initiatives on the state’s ballot, all of which relate to medical marijuana only. Amendment 2 was considered the most substantive measure and aligned most closely with other state medical marijuana programs.
In Utah, voters approved a ballot measure that would legalize medical marijuana. Proposition 2, which passed with more than 54 percent of votes, would allow Utahns with a wide range of qualifying health conditions — including chronic pain, autism, gastrointestinal disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder — to obtain raw cannabis flower or oils, edibles and other cannabis products containing THC or CBD for therapeutic use, as well as grow up to six cannabis plants for personal medicinal use in limited circumstances. The initiative will also establish medical marijuana dispensaries controlled by the state.
“This is yet another historic election for the movement to end marijuana prohibition,” Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which had organized behind the Michigan initiative effort, said in a statement. “Voters have once again sent a message loud and clear that it is time to legalize and regulate marijuana.”
“Marijuana law reform is not a ‘red’ or ‘blue’ issue, it is a nonpartisan position favored by most Americans, including those residing in the heartland of America,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of marijuana advocacy group NORML, tells Mother Jones.
Also worth noting is multiple Congressional members on the federal level who have led the anti-marijuana movement either lost or are retiring.
- Another key marijuana opponent, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), is also retiringin January. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Goodlatte controlled the fate of bills relating to criminal justice. He blocked several pieces of cannabis legislation during his tenure, including the 2018 STATES Act, which would have officially protected states with marijuana laws from federal punishment....
- Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)... served more than two decades in the House... had become a powerful, if not the most influential, opponent of marijuana on the Hill, halting dozens of measures related to legalization. But on Tuesday, he lost big—by more than 6 points—to his Democratic challenger, civil rights attorney Colin Allred, to represent Texas’ 32nd District.
- Washington rid itself of the other Sessions last week—now-former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (no relation)—and with that, two of the biggest roadblocks to legalizing marijuana are finally gone, boosted by a blue wave that took the House and, in turn, created a more friendly environment for marijuana.
Now, advocates are planning their attack.
Sources:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/cannabis-pot-michigan-utah-missouri-weed-752669/