Nov. 10, 2016 –Americans may not have agreed on much this election, but they were united around one issue: marijuana legalization.
Voters in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada approved recreational marijuana. In Maine, a vote to legalize recreational marijuana appears to have narrowly passed. Voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota supported medical marijuana. Only in Arizona did voters reject marijuana in 2016.
“Most voters do not think otherwise law-abiding citizens should be criminalized for using a product that is much safer than alcohol,” says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “They want marijuana to be sold inside regulated, taxpaying businesses, not on the streets, where sales enrich cartels and drug dealers. There is a consensus that law enforcement should be fighting serious crimes rather than enforcing failed and deeply unpopular policies.”
The states that legalized recreational marijuana join Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington in allowing adults to use it.
In California, which with 38 million people will soon become the largest legal marijuana market in the U.S., legalization passed with 56% of the vote. That state already has a robust medical marijuana industry, but Proposition 64 allows anyone 21 and older to possess up to an ounce and to grow up to six plants. It takes effect immediately, though for now there’s nowhere to legally buy it. The state has until Jan. 1, 2018, to begin issuing licenses for recreational stores.
In neighboring Nevada, a near-identical ballot measure passed with 54% of the vote. Decriminalization takes effect on Jan. 1, 2017, and the state will begin licensing recreational stores the following year.
Elsewhere, recreational marijuana scored its first major victories east of the Rockies. In Maine, unofficial results indicated 50.5% of voters approved legalization. The vote wasn’t as close in Massachusetts, where 53.6% supported legalization. Neither state plans to allow marijuana stores to open anytime soon, but adults in Maine can now possess up to 2.5 ounces and have six plants in their home, while adults in Massachusetts can have 1 ounce on their person, 10 ounces at home, and six plants for personal use.
Share this Post