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Marijuana legalization may hit 40 states. Now what?
Changes in state laws could usher in even more confusion for law enforcement and escalate the pressure on Congress to act.
www.politico.com
More than 40 U.S. states could allow some form of legal marijuana by the end of 2020, including deep red Mississippi and South Dakota — and they’re doing it with the help of some conservatives.
State lawmakers are teeing up their bills as legislative sessions kick off around the country, and advocates pushing ballot measures are racing to collect and certify signatures to meet deadlines for getting their questions to voters.
Story Continued Below
Should they succeed, every state could have marijuana laws on the books that deviate from federal law, but people could still be prosecuted if they drive across state lines with their weed, because the total federal ban on marijuana isn’t expected to budge any time soon. The changes could usher in even more confusion for law enforcement and escalate the pressure on Congress to act. Federal bills are crawling through Congress, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell firmly against legalization.
But at the least, hopes will be high that federal hurdles to researching the effects of pot and restrictions on banking in the cannabis sector will ease.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that we can win more marijuana reform ballot initiatives on one Election Day than on any previous Election Day,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project. Schweich cited growing public support for the issue among both liberals and conservatives.
The measures that make the ballot could drive voter turnout at the polls and by extension affect the presidential election.
Liberal states that allow ballot petitions have largely voted to legalize marijuana, including California, Oregon and Massachusetts. “Now, we’re venturing into new, redder territory and what we’re finding is voters are ready to approve these laws in those states,” said Schweich, who, along with leading legalization campaigns in Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan, served as the co-director of the medical marijuana legalization campaign in Utah.
“If we can pass medical marijuana in Utah, we can pass it anywhere.”
National organizations like his are eschewing swing states like Florida and Ohio, where the costs of running a ballot campaign are high during a presidential election. They are intentionally targeting states with smaller populations. For advocates, running successful campaigns in six less-populous states means potentially 12 more senators representing legal marijuana states.
“The cost of an Ohio campaign could cover the costs of [four to six] other ballot initiative campaigns. Our first goal is to pass laws in as many places as we can,” Schweich said.
LAW AND ORDER
How Legal Marijuana Is Helping the Black Market
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They can’t take anything for granted, however. In Florida, where polling says two-thirds of voters want to legalize pot, one effort to gather enough signatures for a 2020 ballot measure collapsed last year, and a second gave up on Tuesday, saying there’s not enough time to vet 700,000 signatures. Organizers are looking to 2022.
And many legislative efforts to legalize marijuana came up short in 2019, including in New York and New Jersey. Those efforts were derailed in part over concerns about how to help people disproportionately harmed by criminal marijuana prosecutions, despite broad support from Democratic-controlled legislatures and the governors.
But it helps that national groups pushing back against the groundswell of state initiatives are few and far between.
Kevin Sabet, president of anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said his group is working behind the scenes in some states ahead of initiatives making the ballot.
"Because we don’t have deep-pocketed investors, we have to be very deliberate when it comes to how we spend our resources during a costly initiative election season," Sabet said. "We’ve been on the ground in several states meeting with partners and potential allies."
Here’s what voters could face at the polls come November, and what some state legislatures are considering this session.
Recreational marijuana
New Mexico — This state will likely prove to be the first 2020 battleground. The Legislature convenes Tuesday and marijuana legalization will be near the top of the agenda. Arguably the biggest hurdle: The legislative session lasts for just 30 days.
“In terms of the hottest states for risk of marijuana legalization, New York is by far No. 1, and then right after that is New Mexico,” said Luke Niforatos, a senior policy adviser at Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “We definitely see them as an imminent threat.”
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed a marijuana task force last year that came up with a detailed blueprint for enacting full legalization. The House passed an adult-use bill last year, but the Senate didn’t take it up. That means opponents — likely including law enforcement and the Catholic church — will focus on the Senate in trying to derail what many see as an inevitable embrace of legalization.
“The Senate is where there's always been a lot of skepticism,” Niforatos said. “It's always been an open question, since last year, if they even have the votes to pass it if it were to get to the floor.”
New Jersey — After falling short of the votes needed to legalize marijuana in the Legislature last year, New Jersey lawmakers opted to put the question before voters instead. Unlike other ballot initiatives on this list, the measure in New Jersey is one referred by the Legislature rather than a citizen petition. State lawmakers approved a resolution to put the legalization question on the ballot in December. Polls have found widespread support in the state for legal marijuana.
New York — Like neighboring New Jersey, lawmakers in New York failed to legalize marijuana in 2019, despite mostly agreeing that it should be legalized. Social justice issues were a key factor in holding up legislation, with lawmakers disagreeing on how the policy should benefit people disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement. They did pass legislation to expunge past cannabis convictions, but how that will be implemented remains to be seen. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo said again this month that marijuana legalization is a priority for his administration and has convened regional governors to coordinate efforts.
more...
Changes in state laws could usher in even more confusion for law enforcement and escalate the pressure on Congress to act.
Marijuana legalization may hit 40 states. Now what?
Changes in state laws could usher in even more confusion for law enforcement and escalate the pressure on Congress to act.
www.politico.com
More than 40 U.S. states could allow some form of legal marijuana by the end of 2020, including deep red Mississippi and South Dakota — and they’re doing it with the help of some conservatives.
State lawmakers are teeing up their bills as legislative sessions kick off around the country, and advocates pushing ballot measures are racing to collect and certify signatures to meet deadlines for getting their questions to voters.
Story Continued Below
Should they succeed, every state could have marijuana laws on the books that deviate from federal law, but people could still be prosecuted if they drive across state lines with their weed, because the total federal ban on marijuana isn’t expected to budge any time soon. The changes could usher in even more confusion for law enforcement and escalate the pressure on Congress to act. Federal bills are crawling through Congress, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell firmly against legalization.
But at the least, hopes will be high that federal hurdles to researching the effects of pot and restrictions on banking in the cannabis sector will ease.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that we can win more marijuana reform ballot initiatives on one Election Day than on any previous Election Day,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project. Schweich cited growing public support for the issue among both liberals and conservatives.
The measures that make the ballot could drive voter turnout at the polls and by extension affect the presidential election.
Liberal states that allow ballot petitions have largely voted to legalize marijuana, including California, Oregon and Massachusetts. “Now, we’re venturing into new, redder territory and what we’re finding is voters are ready to approve these laws in those states,” said Schweich, who, along with leading legalization campaigns in Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan, served as the co-director of the medical marijuana legalization campaign in Utah.
“If we can pass medical marijuana in Utah, we can pass it anywhere.”
National organizations like his are eschewing swing states like Florida and Ohio, where the costs of running a ballot campaign are high during a presidential election. They are intentionally targeting states with smaller populations. For advocates, running successful campaigns in six less-populous states means potentially 12 more senators representing legal marijuana states.
“The cost of an Ohio campaign could cover the costs of [four to six] other ballot initiative campaigns. Our first goal is to pass laws in as many places as we can,” Schweich said.
LAW AND ORDER
How Legal Marijuana Is Helping the Black Market
BY NATALIE FERTIG
They can’t take anything for granted, however. In Florida, where polling says two-thirds of voters want to legalize pot, one effort to gather enough signatures for a 2020 ballot measure collapsed last year, and a second gave up on Tuesday, saying there’s not enough time to vet 700,000 signatures. Organizers are looking to 2022.
And many legislative efforts to legalize marijuana came up short in 2019, including in New York and New Jersey. Those efforts were derailed in part over concerns about how to help people disproportionately harmed by criminal marijuana prosecutions, despite broad support from Democratic-controlled legislatures and the governors.
But it helps that national groups pushing back against the groundswell of state initiatives are few and far between.
Kevin Sabet, president of anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said his group is working behind the scenes in some states ahead of initiatives making the ballot.
"Because we don’t have deep-pocketed investors, we have to be very deliberate when it comes to how we spend our resources during a costly initiative election season," Sabet said. "We’ve been on the ground in several states meeting with partners and potential allies."
Here’s what voters could face at the polls come November, and what some state legislatures are considering this session.
Recreational marijuana
New Mexico — This state will likely prove to be the first 2020 battleground. The Legislature convenes Tuesday and marijuana legalization will be near the top of the agenda. Arguably the biggest hurdle: The legislative session lasts for just 30 days.
“In terms of the hottest states for risk of marijuana legalization, New York is by far No. 1, and then right after that is New Mexico,” said Luke Niforatos, a senior policy adviser at Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “We definitely see them as an imminent threat.”
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed a marijuana task force last year that came up with a detailed blueprint for enacting full legalization. The House passed an adult-use bill last year, but the Senate didn’t take it up. That means opponents — likely including law enforcement and the Catholic church — will focus on the Senate in trying to derail what many see as an inevitable embrace of legalization.
“The Senate is where there's always been a lot of skepticism,” Niforatos said. “It's always been an open question, since last year, if they even have the votes to pass it if it were to get to the floor.”
New Jersey — After falling short of the votes needed to legalize marijuana in the Legislature last year, New Jersey lawmakers opted to put the question before voters instead. Unlike other ballot initiatives on this list, the measure in New Jersey is one referred by the Legislature rather than a citizen petition. State lawmakers approved a resolution to put the legalization question on the ballot in December. Polls have found widespread support in the state for legal marijuana.
New York — Like neighboring New Jersey, lawmakers in New York failed to legalize marijuana in 2019, despite mostly agreeing that it should be legalized. Social justice issues were a key factor in holding up legislation, with lawmakers disagreeing on how the policy should benefit people disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement. They did pass legislation to expunge past cannabis convictions, but how that will be implemented remains to be seen. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo said again this month that marijuana legalization is a priority for his administration and has convened regional governors to coordinate efforts.
more...
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