Voters approved a slew of marijuana legalization initiatives during November’s election—in states around the country and across the political spectrum—but activists aren’t slowing down. They expect that 2021 will see another surge of reform in state legislatures.
Financial analysis firm Cantor Fitzgerald released a report on Wednesday which estimates that Arizona, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut will legalize recreational cannabis sales in the next two years.
Analyst Pablo Zuanic calculates that these new states will add $3.5 billion in market potential for cannabis MSOs and other smaller players.
New Jersey
Perhaps the state with the best chance of legalization is the Garden State. In December, New Jersey's two legislative houses voted very decisively in favor of putting a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana. Similar to the other states to have OK'd the recreational consumption and sale of adult-use weed, adults 21 and over would be allowed to purchase cannabis, and an excise tax would be collected on all sales.
When it comes to state legalization – whether it’s medical or adult-use – there is either effort on the legislative front or at the ballot box (or in cases like New Jersey, the battle moves from one arena to the other).
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.
A number of states aim to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2020
However, this hasn't stopped individual states from legalizing cannabis in some capacity over the past 23 years. Beginning with California in 1996, a grand total of 33 states have legalized medical marijuana. Of these 33 states, 11 have passed legislation allowing for the legal consumption and/or sale of recreational weed. And this could be just the beginning.
Lawmakers in New Jersey will try again to make adult-use cannabis legal in their state, according to a story from NJ.com. The story reports that New Jersey state Senate President Stephen Sweeney says there is a “50/50” possibility it may actually happen this time. He also says he will “put his best effort into it”.
Diversity is the word of the day when it comes to the cannabis industry. It’s the word that sunk the attempt to legalize adult use cannabis in the state of New York and it’s also the issue that torpedoed New Jersey’s march to full legalization.
When Crystal Peoples-Stokes emerged from a multi-state “Cannabis and Vaping Summit” in a Midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom on Thursday afternoon, she was modestly upbeat, but not gushing. Peoples-Stokes has been trying to get marijuana legalized in New York for six years.
“It was better than I anticipated,” the Assembly Majority Leader said. “I was a little skeptical going in. I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric before.”
None of the four states have yet legalized recreational marijuana, but on Thursday, officials agreed to a set of guidelines to follow when considering legalization. They include: