History of marijuana ballot measures and laws: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 18:12, 20 December 2021
As of June 2021, 18 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
At the federal level, the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana have remained federal offenses.[1]
Overview
Recreational marijuana
As of June 2021, 18 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized marijuana for recreational purposes; 12 through citizen initiatives, one through a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, and six through bills approved by state legislatures and signed by governors. An additional 13 states had decriminalized recreational marijuana usage. In those states, while recreational marijuana usage was illegal, violation typically results in a fine rather than arrest or jail time for first-time offenders.[6] Based on 2019 population estimates, roughly 40% percent of Americans lived in a jurisdiction with legalized recreational marijuana.
In 2012, Voters in Colorado and Washington became the first to legalize recreational marijuana when they did so through citizen-initiated measures.
The Vermont State Legislature approved a bill in mid-January 2018 to allow recreational marijuana, and Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed it into law on January 22, 2018. Vermont was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana without voters approving a citizen initiative.[2][7] The following states also legalized recreational marijuana through legislative action instead of a ballot measure:
- On June 25, 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana.[8]
- On March 31, 2021, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill.
- On April 7, 2021, the Virginia Legislature approved a gubernatorial substitute for a bill designed to legalize recreational marijuana effective July 1, 2021.
- On April 12, 2021, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) House Bill 2 legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana.
- On June 22, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana.
Ballot measures legalizing recreational marijuana were approved by voters at the November 2020 election in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota.
The New Jersey measure was the first legislatively referred measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
The measure in South Dakota was ruled unconstitutional on February 8, 2021. The case was appealed to the state supreme court, which upheld the lower court ruling.
The map below details the legal status of recreational marijuana by state as of March 2021.
The following table provides information about when and how recreational marijuana became legal.
| Timeline and process of recreational marijuana legalization | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Year legalized | Process used | Vote | ||
| For | Against | ||||
| Colorado | 2012 | Initiative | 55.32% | 45.68% | |
| Washington | 2012 | Initiative | 55.7% | 44.3% | |
| Alaska | 2014 | Initiative | 53.23% | 46.77% | |
| Oregon | 2014 | Initiative | 56.11% | 43.89% | |
| Washington, D.C. | 2014 | Initiative | 70.06% | 29.94% | |
| California | 2016 | Initiative | 57.13% | 42.87% | |
| Maine | 2016 | Initiative | 50.26% | 49.74% | |
| Massachusetts | 2016 | Initiative | 53.66% | 46.34% | |
| Nevada | 2016 | Initiative | 54.47% | 45.53% | |
| Michigan | 2018 | Initiative | 55.89% | 44.11% | |
| Vermont | 2018 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
| Illinois | 2019 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
| Arizona | 2020 | Initiative | 60.03% | 39.97%[9] | |
| Montana | 2020 | Initiative | 56.90% | 43.10% | |
| New Jersey | 2020 | Referral | 67.08% | 32.92% | |
| New York | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
| Virginia | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
| New Mexico | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
| Connecticut | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A | |
South Dakota voters approved a recreational marijuana legalization initiative on November 3, 2020. The measure was overturned, however, by a circuit court and by the state supreme court upon appeal.[9]
Medical marijuana
- See also: Medical marijuana
As of May 2021, 36 states and Washington, D.C., had passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana. Additionally, 10 states had legalized the use of cannabis oil, or cannabidiol (CBD)—one of the non-psychoactive ingredients found in marijuana—for medical purposes.[10] In one state—Idaho—medical marijuana was illegal, but the use of a specific brand of FDA-approved CDB, Epidiolex, was legal.[11] Based on 2019 population estimates, 67.5 percent of Americans lived in a jurisdiction with access to medical marijuana.
Unique instances
Idaho: In 2015, the Idaho State Legislature passed a bill legalizing certain types of CBD oil that was later vetoed by Governor Butch Otter (R). In response, Otter issued an executive order allowing children with intractable epilepsy to use Epidiolex in certain circumstances. [12]
South Dakota: In 2019, the South Dakota State Legislature passed a bill amending one section of law by adding Epidiolex to its list of controlled substances. The bill also exempted CBD from the state's definition of marijuana in that section.[13] Elsewhere in state law, CBD was not exempted from the definition of marijuana. This discrepancy led to confusion that left the legal status of CBD in the state unclear for a year.[14]
After the 2019 changes, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg (R) issued a statement, wherein he argued all forms of CBD oil, apart from Epidiolex, were illegal under state law.[15] Several state's attorneys expressed disagreement with the Attorney General's statements. Aaron McGown and Tom Wollman, state's attorneys for Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, respectively, issued a joint statement where they said the discrepancy left legality open to differing interpretations. Mark Vargo, the Pennington County state's attorney, said his office would not prosecute CBD cases based on his interpretation of the state law.[14]
On March 27, 2020, Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed House Bill 1008 into law, which legalized industrial hemp and CBD oil in the state.[16]
Trifecta analysis
A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. At the start of 2021, there were 15 Democratic trifectas, 23 Republican trifectas, and 12 states with a divided government.
Of the 18 states that had legalized recreational marijuana as of June 2021, 12 had Democratic trifectas, two had Republican trifectas, and four had divided governments.
Background
History
Marijuana has been illegal in the United States since 1937, when Congress prohibited its use for recreational, industrial, and therapeutic purposes with the Marihuana [sic] Act of 1937. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the drug and all its cannabinoid forms were classified as Schedule I substances, belonging to the same class as heroin (cocaine, by contrast, is a Substance II drug). Schedule I substances are considered to have a high potential for dependency and no accepted medical use; being classified as such made distribution of marijuana a federal offense. The table below compares Schedule I and Schedule II substances.[17]
| Schedule I and Schedule II substances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule | Substances | |||
| Schedule I | Heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, peyote | |||
| Schedule II | Combination products with less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin), cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall, Ritalin | |||
| Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "Drug Scheduling," accessed September 16, 2016 | ||||
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been the federal agency working to eradicate the growth of marijuana on American soil since 1979 through its Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP). In 2014 the program "was responsible for the eradication of 3,904,213 cultivated outdoor cannabis plants and 396,620 indoor plants for a total of 4,300,833 marijuana plants ... In addition, the DCE/SP accounted for 6,310 arrests and the seizure in excess of 27.3 million dollars of cultivator assets. The program also removed 4,989 weapons from cannabis cultivators."[18]
Legalization in the United States
Medical:
The first marijuana-related ballot measure appeared on California's ballot in 1972. Proposition 19, which would have decriminalized the use of marijuana by adults, was defeated, with 66.5 percent of voters opposing the measure. Twenty-four years later, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana with 1996's Proposition 215. Alaska and Oregon followed suit in 1998.
Recreational:
History of marijuana on the ballot
- See also: History of marijuana on the ballot
Major issues
Usage
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 27.7 million American citizens aged 12 and older were current marijuana users in 2018 (meaning that they had used marijuana within the past month). This amounted to roughly 10.1 percent of the population aged 12 and older. See the table below for further details, including breakdowns by age bracket.[19][20]
| Marijuana usage as a percentage of the population by age bracket, 2002-2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 12 and older | 12 to 17 | 18 to 25 | 26 and older |
| 2002 | 6.2% | 8.2% | 17.3% | 4.0% |
| 2003 | 6.2% | 7.9% | 17.0% | 4.0% |
| 2004 | 6.1% | 7.6% | 16.1% | 4.1% |
| 2005 | 6.0% | 6.8% | 16.6% | 4.1% |
| 2006 | 6.0% | 6.7% | 16.3% | 4.2% |
| 2007 | 5.8% | 6.7% | 16.5% | 3.9% |
| 2008 | 6.1% | 6.7% | 16.6% | 4.2% |
| 2009 | 6.7% | 7.4% | 18.2% | 4.6% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | 7.4% | 18.5% | 4.8% |
| 2011 | 7.0% | 7.9% | 19.0% | 4.8% |
| 2012 | 7.3% | 7.2% | 18.7% | 5.3% |
| 2013 | 7.5% | 7.1% | 19.1% | 5.6% |
| 2014 | 8.4% | 7.4% | 19.6% | 6.6% |
| 2015 | 8.3% | 7.0% | 19.8% | 6.5% |
| 2016 | 8.9% | 6.5% | 20.8% | 7.2% |
| 2017 | 9.6% | 6.5% | 22.1% | 7.9% |
| 2018 | 10.1% | 6.7% | 22.1% | 8.6% |
| 2017- 2018 Source available: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "2018 NSDUH Detailed Tables (Table 1.7B)," August 20, 2019. Earlier data can be found here. | ||||
Crime and incarceration
According to the FBI, there were 10,310,960 total arrests in the United States in 2018, the most recent year for which full data were available. Of that total, an estimated 1,167,296 arrests were related to drug abuse violations. Marijuana violations comprised the highest percentage of that subtotal. Of all drug-related violations, 36.8 percent, or 429,565, were related to marijuana possession; 4.4 percent, or 51,361, were related to the sale or manufacture of marijuana.[21]
Arguments supporting marijuana legalization
Proponents of the legalization of recreational marijuana make the following general arguments in support of their position:[1]
- Increased revenues for state and local governments: Proponents argue that, by making recreational marijuana legal, state and local governments can levy taxes on cannabis products, thereby generating revenues for government services.
- Enabling law enforcement officers and criminal justice officials to focus on other crimes: Proponents argue that, If recreational marijuana use is legalized, law enforcement officers and criminal justice officials will be able to spend more time pursuing other crimes, such as violent offenses.
- Improved safety via regulation: Proponents argue that, if marijuana is legalized, it will be subject to government regulation, which may result in a safer product.
Arguments opposing marijuana legalization
Opponents of the legalization of recreational marijuana make the following general arguments in support of their position:[1]
- Addictiveness: Opponents argue that any revenues generated by marijuana legalization could be offset by the costs of treating users who become addicted the drug.
- Gateway drug: Opponents argue marijuana functions as a gateway drug, leading users to experiment with and become addicted to other drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
- Health: Opponents argue that marijuana use can lead to a host of health problems, including lung cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and mental health conditions.
Public opinion
Gallup, a national polling firm, first began surveying Americans about legalizing marijuana use in 1969. At that time, only 12 percent of all adults supported legalization. Since then, support for legalization has increased significantly. In 2019, a majority of American adults—66 percent—supported legalization. The table below breaks down support for legalization by age bracket.[22][23]
| Support for marijuana legalization by age bracket, 1969 to 2019 (selected years) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All adults | 18 to 34 | 35 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 and older |
| 2019 | 66% | 81% | 71% | 62% | 49% |
| 2015 | 58% | 71% | 64% | 58% | 35% |
| 2000/2001 | 33% | 44% | 34% | 30% | 17% |
| 1985 | 23% | 32% | 22% | 16% | 13% |
| 1969 | 12% | 20% | 11% | 6% | 4% |
| 2019 source: Gallup.com, "U.S. Support for Legal Marijuana Steady in Past Year," October 23, 2019. Previous year data available here | |||||
Support for legalization by political party affiliation
According to a 2019 poll by Quinnipiac University, support for marijuana legalization differed according to political party affiliation, with Democrats and independents generally favoring legalization and Republicans generally opposing legalization. See the table below for further details.[24]
| Support for marijuana legalization by political party affiliation, 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | Republicans | Independents | Total | ||
| Support for legalization | 73% | 40% | 64% | 60% | |
| Opposition to legalization | 20% | 52% | 31% | 33% | |
| Undecided | 8% | 8% | 5% | 7% | |
| Source: Quinnipiac University, "U.S. Voters Oppose Trump Emergency Powers on Wall 2-1 Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds," March 6, 2019 | |||||
However, the same poll found significantly higher support across all partisan affiliations for the legalization of medical marijuana. See the table below for further details.[24]
| Support for medical marijuana legalization by political party affiliation, 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | Republicans | Independents | Total | ||
| Support for legalization | 96% | 86% | 96% | 93% | |
| Opposition to legalization | 3% | 12% | 3% | 5% | |
| Undecided | 1% | 2% | 1% | 2% | |
| Source: Quinnipiac University, "U.S. Voters Oppose Trump Emergency Powers on Wall 2-1 Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds," March 6, 2019 | |||||
Federalism question
At the federal level, the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana have remained federal offenses. When states began to legalize it, first for medical and then for personal use, enforcement became more complicated because states enforce their own narcotics statutes. This caused a conflict between the federal and state governments: what was illegal at the federal level was now legal in some places at the state level. Consequently, the Obama administration in October 2009 encouraged federal prosecutors not to prosecute individuals distributing or using marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with state law.[25]
On August 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice made another announcement regarding its marijuana enforcement policy: "In a new memorandum outlining the policy, the Department makes clear that marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act and that federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute ... Based on assurances that those states will impose an appropriately strict regulatory system, the Department has informed the governors of [Colorado and Washington, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2012] that it is deferring its right to challenge their legalization laws at this time."[26]
On August 11, 2016, the federal government rejected a proposal to declassify marijuana as an illegal Schedule I drug and to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that marijuana has not been proven scientifically to be medically safe or effective; therefore, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) could not allow the drug to be declassified.[27]
On December 20, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) signed the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, into law, which legalized the production of hemp by removing it from the Schedule I list of controlled substances under federal law. The bill defined hemp as any cannabis plant, or part of a cannabis plant, that contains less than 0.3 percent of THC, the substance that gives cannabis its psychoactive properties.[28] By extension, cannabis oil, or cannabidiol (CBD)—one of the non-psychoactive ingredients found in marijuana—was also made legal under federal law so long as it contained less than 0.3% THC.[29] Despite the legalization of hemp and CBD at the federal level, individual states retained the ability to prohibit the materials.
Ballot measures
Statewide measures
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
|
Below are lists of the certified and proposed marijuana ballot measures that were intended for 2020 ballots:
2022: No measures
2021: No measures
2020:
- Mississippi Ballot Measure 1, Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A, Medical Marijuana Amendment (2020)
- Arizona Proposition 207, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2020)
- South Dakota Constitutional Amendment A, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2020)
- Montana CI-118, Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana Amendment (2020)
- Montana I-190, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2020)
Local ballot measures
Local marijuana on the ballot: This topic refers to local ballot measures regarding the local regulation of marijuana sales and use.
2020:
- Marina, California, Measure Z, Marijuana Business Regulation Ordinance (November 2020)
- Laguna Woods, California, Measure V, Marijuana Dispensaries Advisory Question (November 2020)
- La Habra, California, Measure W, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Madera, California, Measure R, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- San Bruno, California, Measure S, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Mount Shasta, California, Measure L, Marijuana Business Regulations (November 2020)
- Weed, California, Measure B, Marijuana Business Regulations (November 2020)
- Vacaville, California, Measure V, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Fairfield, California, Measure C, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Pomona, California, Measure PO, Marijuana Business Regulation Ordinance (November 2020)
- Pomona, California, Measure PM, Marijuana Business Zoning Ordinance (November 2020)
- Hawthorne, California, Measure CC, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure SB, Marijuana Business Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure RS, Development Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure RD, Development Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure AE, Marijuana Business Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure SC, Marijuana Business Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Commerce, California, Measure CO, Marijuana Business Agreement Ordinance (November 2020)
- Sonoma, California, Measure Y, Marijuana Cultivation Initiative (November 2020)
- Sonoma, California, Measure X, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Ventura County, California, Measure O, Marijuana Permit Ordinance (November 2020)
- San Buenaventura, California, Measure I, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Ojai, California, Measure G, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Encinitas, California, Measure H, Marijuana Commercial Zoning and Regulation (November 2020)
- Marysville, California, Measure N, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Solana Beach, California, Measure S, Permit and Regulate Marijuana Businesses and Cultivation Initiative (November 2020)
- Yountville, California, Measure T, Marijuana Business Regulations (November 2020)
- Jurupa Valley, California, Measure U, Marijuana Business Regulation Changes and Tax Increase (November 2020)
- Waterford, California, Measure S, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Grass Valley, California, Measure N, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Porterville, California, Measure R, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- Anchorage, Alaska, Proposition 11, Marijuana Consumption at Retail Stores (April 2020)
- Avalon, California, Measure E, Advisory Vote on Allowing Delivery of Recreational Marijuana (March 2020)
- Avalon, California, Measure F, Advisory Vote on Allowing Marijuana Dispensaries in City Limits (March 2020)
- Benicia, California, Measure D, Marijuana Dispensaries Advisory Question (November 2020)
- Calabasas, California, Measure C, Marijuana Business Tax (November 2020)
- San Fernando, California, Measure MJ, Marijuana Business Ban (March 2020)
2019:
News feed
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Marijuana legalization ballot. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
- Marijuana ballot measures
- Marijuana Policy Project
- Drug Policy Alliance
- History of marijuana on the ballot
Additional reading
- ProCon.org, "Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal? Top Pro and Con Arguments"
- ProCon.org, "Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal? Pro and Con Quotes"
- ProCon.org, "Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal? Background of the Issue"
- ProCon.org, "Legal Recreational Marijuana States and DC"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 DrugRehab.us, "Pros and Cons of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hill, "Vermont governor signs marijuana legalization bill," January 22, 2018
- ↑ CBS 2 Chicago, "Governor JB Pritzker Signs Recreational Marijuana Law," June 25, 2019
- ↑ Virginia State Legislature, "HB 2312 Marijuana; legalization of simple possession, etc." accessed April 7, 2021
- ↑ New Mexico Legislature, "House Bill 2," accessed April 12, 2021
- ↑ Marijuana Policy Project, "Decriminalization," accessed March 2, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "Vermont governor vetoes marijuana legalization," May 24, 2017
- ↑ Associated Press, "Illinois becomes 11th state to allow recreational marijuana," June 25, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedunofficial - ↑ This count excludes states that permitted both the use of cannabis oil and medical marijuana.
- ↑ CBD School, "CBD Laws by State 2020 - Just the Facts (is CBD legal in 2020?)," accessed February 28, 2020
- ↑ Idaho Office of Drug Policy, "Cannabidiol (CBD)," accessed February 28, 2020
- ↑ South Dakota Legislature official website, "2019 Senate Bill 22 - Enrolled," accessed February 28, 2020
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Argus Leader, "Is CBD oil illegal? Confusion reigns over South Dakota's law," April 19, 2019
- ↑ South Dakota Attorney General official website, "Attorney General Ravnsborg clarifies questions regarding industrial hemp and CBD (Cannabidiol) oil," March 25, 2019
- ↑ Argus Leader, "Industrial hemp becomes legal in South Dakota after Noem signs bill," March 27, 2020
- ↑ U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "Drug Scheduling," accessed September 16, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, "Domestic Cannabis Eradication / Suppression Program," accessed May 27, 2016
- ↑ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "2018 NSDUH Detailed Tables (Table 1.7B)," August 20, 2019
- ↑ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "NSDUH data files page," accessed March 2, 2020
- ↑ Federal Bureau of Investigation, "2018: Crime in the United States (Persons Arrested)," accessed March 2, 2020
- ↑ Gallup.com, "U.S. Support for Legal Marijuana Steady in Past Year," October 23, 2019
- ↑ Gallup.com, "In U.S., 58% Back Legal Marijuana Use," October 21, 2015
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Quinnipiac University, "U.S. Voters Oppose Trump Emergency Powers on Wall 2-1 Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 86% Back Democrats' Bill on Gun Background Checks," March 6, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Medical Marijuana Laws," April 18, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Justice Department Announces Update to Marijuana Enforcement Policy,", August 29, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "U.S. affirms its prohibition on medical marijuana," August 11, 2016
- ↑ United States Department of Agriculture, "Executive Summary of New Hemp Authorities," May 28, 2019
- ↑ Perkins Coie, "What Does the 2018 Farm Bill Mean for the Hemp and CBD Businesses?," December 31, 2018
