Posted on 11/10/2018 3:20:06 PM PST by NobleFree
Marijuana legalization had a very good election night on Tuesday.
The big news came from Michigan, which became the first state in the Midwest to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. And it appears to have won by a fairly big margin: With 87 percent of precincts reporting, the “yes” vote got 56 percent of the vote — topping the “no” vote by 12 percentage points.
There were also a couple of medical marijuana victories in Missouri and Utah. Both states went Republican in state races (particularly the Senate), yet they still showed solid support for legalizing medical pot. The winning measure in Missouri got 66 percent of the vote, and the initiative in Utah is so far, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, at 53 percent.
The one bit of bad news for legal marijuana came from North Dakota, where voters rejected an initiative that would have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. That measure got less than 41 percent support.
But the North Dakota loss was widely expected. North Dakota is very conservative; it was always very unlikely to fully legalize pot before, say, liberal New York and New Jersey. The measure’s chances were likely lowered further because it was very unusual: It would have legalized selling pot without any regulations, leaving it to the state’s lawmakers to quickly enact rules instead. Typically, marijuana legalization measures at least set up a regulatory framework for sales.
In short, marijuana legalization got three major wins and an expected loss on Tuesday.
Beyond the midterm elections, 2018 has been a big year for marijuana legalization. This year, California opened the world’s biggest legal marijuana market, Vermont legalized marijuana possession (becoming the first state to do so through its legislature), and Canada became the world’s first wealthy nation to fully legalize pot.
After Election Day, 10 states have legalized marijuana for recreational and medical uses, and 22 others have legalized only for medical purposes.
Trump should remove the federal government from this question pronto.
Letting voters decide, IMO is the best way to accomplish this.
Congrats to Michigan.
I predict Florida passes it in 2020 if it makes it on the ballot.
Yes, to my disgust.
Thank You for the ping and post NobleFree.
THere is probably still plenty of time to put it on the 2018 ballot. While we're at it, how much would you like it to pass by?
Indeed - the federal war on marijuana is manifestly unconstitutional.
He holds that position, that it is a state issue, but unless he wants to break the law, like 0bama did on DACA for example, he needs to have Congress give him a bill that changes current FedLaw.
At least I think he does. I stand ready to be corrected.
Not his decision. Congress will have to repeal it and he can decide it.
Major can of worms considering that such imprisonment could be due to parole violations or any number of other associated crimes........
Ok a fuzzy thinking America can get even more fuzzy!
This will help with the exodus from California.
People who smoke pot do not deserve to be in jail or prison, because they are not criminals.
It’s as simple as that.
“Marijuana legalization had a very good election night on Tuesday.”
As well it should.
I have such mixed feelings here. As a Libertarian I favor the people deciding this issue. On the other hand, adding ANOTHER legal intoxicant will also probably add to the DWI stats. Plus, I feel that if Tobacco Smoke was injurious, there is still a lot to study about the long term effect of marijuana smoke although I’m uncertain what the medical marijuana is voting for, smoke or pills or both.
Even here in Indiana, NOBODY goes to prison for simple possession
It’s the large quantity dealers, other illegal drugs, illegal guns in possession, and past felonies that gets them locked up.
Most of the ones that get the max here, more often than not, have Chicago or Detroit addresses. Most recently, a large bust of folks from Atlanta
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