California and Massachusetts Become 5th and 6th States to Legalize, Regulate, and Tax Marijuana for Adult Use; Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas Become 26th, 27th, and 28th States to Legalize Medical Marijuana
California and Massachusetts Become 5th and 6th States to Legalize, Regulate, and Tax Marijuana for Adult Use; Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas Become 26th, 27th, and 28th States to Legalize Medical MarijuanaVoters in California and Massachusetts have approved ballot initiatives to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adult use, and voters in Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas have approved medical marijuana programs.
Initiatives to regulate and tax marijuana for adult use are leading in Nevada and Maine and trailing in Arizona. An initiative is leading in Montana that would restore patient access to medical marijuana providers and create a more regulated system of medical marijuana production and distribution.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12 p.m., Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a leading advocate for changes to federal drug laws, will join the Marijuana Policy Project for a national media teleconference to discuss the outcome of the election and to answer questions about what to expect next at the federal and state levels. RSVP to media@mpp.org to receive instructions for participating in the teleconference.
Heading into the election, four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — had adopted laws that legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adult use, and 25 states had adopted comprehensive medical marijuana laws.
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“This is the most momentous Election Day in history for the movement to end marijuana prohibition. From Los Angeles to Boston, voters are casting their ballots in favor of sensible marijuana policy reforms. Today’s results are right in line with national polls showing record-high support for making marijuana legal.
“These votes send a clear message to federal officials that it’s time to stop arresting and incarcerating marijuana users. Congress must take action to ease the tension between state and federal marijuana laws. Once this new batch of state laws takes effect over the next couple of months, marijuana will be legal in more than half a dozen states, and we expect several more to follow during the 2017-2018 legislative and election cycles. The end of prohibition is near, and it would be a mistake for the federal government to continue waging war on its own nonviolent citizens. How do you ask a DEA agent to be the last man to enforce a mistake?
“Most voters do not think otherwise law-abiding citizens should be criminalized for using a product that is much safer than alcohol. They want marijuana to be sold inside regulated, taxpaying businesses, not on the streets, where sales enrich cartels and drug dealers. There is a general consensus that law enforcement should be fighting serious crimes rather than enforcing failed and deeply unpopular policies.”
WHAT: National media teleconference to discuss the results of the marijuana policy ballot initiatives and what to expect next at the federal and state levels
WHEN: TOMORROW, Wednesday, November 9, 12 p.m. ET
WHERE: RSVP to media@mpp.org; call-in instructions will be provided approximately one hour prior to the teleconference
WHO: Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project, Mason Tvert, Director of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project
Source: MarijuanaPolicy.org
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