Posted on 01/11/2020 11:52:59 AM PST by NobleFree
Despite the drubbing that marijuana stocks took in 2019, it was still a year filled with cannabis firsts. We witnessed Canada become the first industrialized country to launch derivative pot products and watched Illinois do what New Jersey and New York failed to do -- legalize recreational weed while also passing an expungement clause for those people with previous cannabis possession or use convictions.
The current year also looks as if it'll be filled with marijuana milestones. For instance, Mexico should become the third country in the world to give adult-use cannabis the green light by no later than the end of April. But the single-biggest event in 2020 will likely be the November elections in the United States.
Just as we witnessed in 2016, when nine states voted on a marijuana initiative or amendment (eight of which passed), the current year should feature a number of state-level votes on recreational or medical cannabis. However, none of them will be as unique as what South Dakota is bringing to the voting booth.
The Mount Rushmore State is set to make history The Mount Rushmore State has two separate marijuana initiatives that'll be appearing on the ballot. The first is the South Dakota Marijuana and Hemp Initiative, which, if approved, would lead to amendments of the state's constitution. This ballot measure would allow persons aged 21 and over to possess, use, transport, and distribute cannabis, with possession and distribution limits set at one ounce. It would also authorize the State Department of Revenue to handle the issuance of marijuana-related licenses for growing, testing, retailers, and so on, with a 15% excise tax ultimately being slapped on adult-use weed sales. As is consistent with other recreationally legal states, the revenue raised from taxing pot would be used to supplement the in-state education budget.
Interestingly, this amendment doesn't legalize hemp. However, it would require the state's legislature to pass laws regarding the cultivation, processing, and sale of hemp by no later than April 1, 2022, as well as establish regulations regarding a medical cannabis program.
The other initiative, known as Measure 26, is a statutory measure designed to create a medical marijuana program in South Dakota for patients with a debilitating medical condition. As currently written, a "debilitating medical condition" would be one that leads to "cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe debilitating pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis." The Department of Health would be free to add additional qualifying conditions, according to the measure.
In other words, South Dakota residents will be the first ever to vote on adult-use marijuana and medical marijuana in the same election. Ohio tinkered with the idea a few years back, but it never came to fruition.
South Dakota won't be alone come November Although South Dakota will offer the most original marijuana vote to date, it's certainly not going to be the only state with major cannabis implications.
New Jersey residents will absolutely be voting on a recreational cannabis measure come November. The Garden State looked to be on track to legalize adult-use pot at the legislative level in March of last year, but it all fell apart very quickly. Though Democrats in the state legislature are in favor of legalizing and taxing recreational pot, disagreements arose after some lawmakers wanted to see an expungement clause introduced for those folks with prior convictions for possession or use. This caused on-the-fence supporters to back away, ultimately killing momentum. However, support for adult-use weed looks strong among New Jersey residents, making it a good candidate to legalize in 2020.
Even though it's not even guaranteed to have a ballot measure as of yet -- signatures are currently being gathered -- Arizona is a fairly sure bet to legalize recreational pot in 2020. You see, states that fail to pass adult-use weed measures have resounding success on the second go-around. Following Arizona's Proposition 205 failing to pass in 2016 by a mere 2%, it looks highly likely that residents will have softened their stance on cannabis by November.
Even Nebraska, which is traditionally a Republican-led state, looks as if it'll be voting on a medical marijuana initiative in November, assuming residents can gather enough signatures. Though Republican support for recreational cannabis is hit or miss, the general consensus, regardless of party lines, is that medical marijuana being prescribed by a physician is A-OK.
It's possible that, by the beginning of 2021, there could be only 15 (or fewer) states that haven't legalized medical pot in some capacity.
Legalizations mean opportunity for MSOs It's no secret that the U.S. is already the largest marijuana market in the world by sales. If additional states join the ranks of those to have legalized, it's going to mean even more opportunity for vertically integrated multistate operators (MSO). After all, both New Jersey and Arizona are forecast to produce more than $1 billion in annual weed sales by 2024.
Obvious beneficiaries of a November "green sweep" would be those MSOs with the greatest number of licenses at their disposal: Curaleaf (OTC:CURLF) and Harvest Health & Recreation (OTC:HRVSF).
On a pro forma basis (i.e., if all pending acquisitions close), both Curaleaf and Harvest Health will each be able to open around 130 retail dispensaries in 19 and 18 states, respectively. Harvest Health has in the neighborhood of 210 total licenses, which includes cultivation farms and processing sites. Not surprisingly, Wall Street is counting on incredible growth from these MSOs in 2020, with Curaleaf having a shot at $1 billion in full-year sales and Harvest Health expected to top $660 million, making it one of the fastest-growing pot stocks.
We're still a couple of months away from knowing exactly how many states will be voting on cannabis come November, but MSOs appear set for a much better year than 2019.
I was wondering what meet was lol!
“it’s certainly possible to take enough THC to hamper one’s driving ability”
People who claim that are covering for the ingestion of a second substance.
It’s kinda like liquor- You have to be able to “hold your THC” and know your limits, which requires practice and caution. Some people think their first time being REALLY high on pot is how it will be every time they use it. It’s not like that at all!. If you think it makes you paranoid, think again...It’s not the pot, it’s something that was already inside you. They say that in men, it lowers the sperm count...So what if it does!?...LOL!
Italy has legal pot lite, same stuff we were smoking in college 40 years ago, hash is everywhere
Look for the drivers waiting for the stop sign to turn green...
Someplace or other I heard that William F. Buckley once sailed his yacht outside US territorial waters to try pot without violating US law.
“They say that in men, it lowers the sperm count...So what if it does!?”
With God’s help, I was able to obey his order to be fruitful and multiply. Too many intelligent young people, however, have been deceived into thinking that they “shouldn’t bring children into a world like this.”
We should ban abortion, ban birth control, drop “equal pay for equal work,” and above all do away with no-fault divorce.
Given that legal weed is one of the single most broadly supported issues in America today, it makes a lot of sense to put together a GOP plan that works rather than merely respond to inane Democrat proposals.
I went to outpatient rehab a couple years back for alcohol dependence voluntarily. In my group of around 20 folks, one guy was there for alcohol and pot. He was the only guy that had any pot issue and he was also the only other guy there voluntarily. Everyone else was there by court order. The majority were meth and heroin. To their credit, the majority of the heroin users wanted to get clean. The meth addicts just needed to be shot. They were just simply gone.
Smoking weed is all the rage but don’t you DARE drink or ingest nicotine.
I divorce myself from the idea that I MUST OBEY...even one of my most driving instincts as a human being to “go forth and multiply” or whatever.. Don’t get me wrong, ‘cause I really dig women...When I know...from having shared in and my being almost involved in the breakups of families with children, including my own immediate and extended families...Having been born in early 1959, and no dummy, thanks to my immediate and extended families...I know now that there is no time in the history of the entire world as we know it, for individuals to experience and enjoy in their lifetimes, the most freedom(s) that human beings were ever able to enjoy. However, this is not the “white priviledge”, it’s the American priviledge. We survived the Cold War, so let’s party!
Meet, corned beef, hash...it’s long road, but it gets ya there.
“We survived the Cold War, so let’s party!”
According to the Rapist-in-Chief, I am a certified Cold Warrior.
“I divorce myself from the idea that I MUST OBEY.”
God gives us the choice of choosing Him or choosing poorly.
Be nice if we could stop the delusion that legal highly taxed marijuana will be a gusher of new funds, and use legal moderately taxed marijuana to take a real bite out of cartel profits.
Marijuana, now you're really history this time! Never to be heard of again! LOL
I’m native to South Dakota and a former lobbyist to the state legislature. It is quite easy to get initiated legislation on the ballot in South Dakota and there is a history of strange initiatives coming from nowhere and going to the voters. I seriously doubt that the voters of South Dakota will approve legalizing marijuana as it is still a very conservative place. The industrial hemp measure was defeated in the last legislative session and was strongly opposse by Governor Noem. I understand there is support for this measure by some farm groups and it might pass in November. The medical marijuana initiative probably will not get support from the doctors and hospitals and they have the means to run advertising campaigns in opposition.
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